Camp Sunshine
by adder574
Summary: Sam convinces Dean to take a job at Camp Sunshine, a summer camp for children with diabetes. While trying to take care of a spirit that is causing accidents and hurting campers, Dean must deal with a familiar problem and runs into an old friend.
1. Chapter 1

Thank you once again to Soar for agreeing to beta this for me, and to Soar, JuliaAurelia, and Sinead-Conlan for all their help and suggestions.

Camp Sunshine

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

Summary: Sam convinces Dean to take a job at Camp Sunshine, a summer camp for kids with diabetes. While trying to take care of a spirit that is causing accidents and hurting campers, Dean must deal with a familiar problem and runs into an old friend.

A/N: This story is set in early first season, after Phantom Traveler and before Skin. It's my guess that anyone taking a job working around children is going to be subject to a very strict background check, so it's better that Dean is not a wanted, legally dead, serial killer, even if he is going by an alias.

A/N 2: This story is a sequel to Westcott Preparatory Academy. You should be able to follow this, though, even if you have not read Westcott. The basic story line for the other story was that at age 16, Dean was diagnosed with diabetes. The Winchesters stay with Bobby for a while, and John eventually gets a job to meet Dean's medical needs. It takes place over the course of one year, and explores the Winchesters actually getting to experience a normal life.

Here is a brief description of some of the important characters and events:  
Westcott Preparatory Academy- A private school that John gets a job at. As an employee, it allows John to send the boys there, tuition free.

Grayson Remington- Attended school with Dean and they became best friends.

Dante- The character I wished Bela turned out to be. He is a very shady and dangerous character who buys and sells supernatural objects.

Dean's amulet- Westcott was written before A Very Supernatural Christmas, and in my story, Dean's amulet was given to him by Bobby. The amulet is a very powerful supernatural object. The legend I created for it is that it makes the wearer immune to any natural disease. So as long as Dean wears it, he is symptom free from his diabetes, but if he takes it off or loses it, his illness will come back.

Okay is there anyone still reading? If you are, here's the chapter.

Chapter 1

It was a picture perfect day. The sun was just setting behind the trees, casting a shadow over the lake. The lake itself was perfectly still, not a ripple or a wave anywhere, as if it too were settling down for the night.

It was the time that Reggie Sanders loved best. So after completing his day's tasks, he couldn't help but take a stroll down by the lake. When he arrived, he immediately took off his shoes and socks and waded a few feet from shore. Even the water was the perfect temperature. He couldn't help but think it was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Reggie couldn't believe his luck. He didn't think his life could get any better. He was graduating college, had been accepted to the medical school of his choice, he really enjoyed working with children and intended to specialize in paediatrics. The fact that he had landed a summer job, not only as a camp counsellor, as the outdoors was another of his favourite places, but it was working with kids with diabetes, so it would look great on a resume.

Reggie loved the idea behind Camp Sunshine. It allowed children with diabetes to spend time with other kids like themselves, and gave them a chance to just be kids.

It was located in a wooded area in western Maine. It ran for eight weeks during the summer, and there were four groups of kids that attended for two weeks at a time, in order to let as many kids as possible enjoy the experience.

Things weren't all fun and games though.

Last year, one of campers broke her leg in a bizarre accident, and another counsellor, who was an Olympic swimmer, had almost drowned in a calm lake. He had been saved, but had suffered brain damage and would never be the same again.

Reggie was startled out of his thoughts by a noise coming from behind the boat house, and he decided to go see what it was.

He was never seen again.

--

Dr. Grayson Remington walked down the dirt path toward the administration cabin, grumbling to himself the whole way.

The first group of campers were due to arrive later that day, and the young doctor felt that his talents would be better appreciated in the medical cabin, helping to organize things for the kids. He disliked a lot of this administrative crap. Of all the days for the camp director to decide to take off, why did it have to be this one? Okay, granted, the man's daughter was getting married, so he did have an excuse, but damn it, why did it have to be today? Couldn't she have postponed the wedding by one stupid day?

_Get a grip, the young physician told himself. _He was happy for his friend's daughter, but he just wanted this season to be perfect. He got to the main cabin and fingered his own wedding ring. He wouldn't have put off marrying his own wife for another day, either. He greeted Sherry, the receptionist, and let himself into the office.

Dr. Patrick Rafferty was the director of Camp Sunshine. He had been Gray's anatomy and physiology teacher in his first year of medical school. Patrick was a paediatric endocrinologist working with children that had diabetes, and the elder physician had become Gray's mentor, as that was what Gray had been planning to specialize in.

When Gray had been in his final year of medical school, Patrick had told him about Camp Sunshine, a summer camp for children with diabetes, and asked him if he would like a summer job. Gray had eagerly agreed to a job as a counsellor and he had loved every minute of it, watching the kids get a chance to be kids and interact with other kids who were just like them. He saw how much good the camp did.

After he had graduated, he had moved from being a counsellor, to working as a doctor in the medical cabin, and last year, Patrick had begun teaching Gray some of the administrative duties required to run the camp. He had said that he'd wanted the young man to take over from him when he retired. Gray wasn't sure how he felt about that. He was honored that Patrick trusted him, but he preferred to work with the campers. He was rich though, so maybe by then, he could clone himself.

The young doctor took a seat behind the big, oak desk, and he knew that the first thing he had to do was schedule interviews, and hire two new counsellors as soon as possible.

He shook his head when he thought of Reggie. He had gone for a walk down by the lake the night before and hadn't come back. Why was it that of all the days he had decided to take off, it had to be this one? He had thought that Reggie had been really looking forward to spending the summer here. He had seemed so enthusiastic.

As if that wasn't bad enough, when they had discovered Reggie gone, one of the other counsellors had just quit on the spot. He said with the incidents last year, and Reggie going missing, the camp must have been haunted.

Gray had to laugh at that. There was no such thing as ghosts. He did realize that the camp seemed to have had its share of accidents lately... _But still, ghosts, he thought in amused disbelief_.

He had to put aside his thoughts because the campers were going to be arriving in a couple of hours and they desperately needed to replace the counsellors who'd left.

Scanning the applications, Gray quickly divided them into a discard pile and a second look pile. He was down to the last couple when the names of the last two applicants caught his attention.

Dean and Sam Westcott, brothers according to their applications.

The names had caused Gray's mind to drift back to when he was in his junior year of high school. They were so similar.

--

Gray had met Dean Winchester on the first day of the 11th grade. Dean had been standing at his locker, looking like a fish out of water, and Gray had immediately felt sorry for him. He had looked so miserable. Not that he would ever tell Dean that. He had walked over and started a conversation by asking if he could copy Dean's Latin homework. Not realizing that Gray was kidding, Dean had tried to give it to him the next day.

He had liked Dean right away. He seemed genuine, not like his other so-called friends. The two seemed to hit it off, and their friendship started slowly, but grew steadily and ran deep. _Once Dean had truly allowed himself to believe he had a friend, Gray thought sadly.  
_  
Dean had eventually confided in him that he had diabetes, and that the kids in his old school hadn't made life easy for him. From what his friend had told him, Gray had really admired the way Dean had dealt with his illness. He rarely complained about anything.

It was actually what had inspired Gray to choose the specialty he did. There had been a couple of close calls, once when Dean got the flu and it caused his diabetes to go haywire, and another time when he had been shot in the shoulder during a hold up at the hardware store he was working at, and the delay in getting him to surgery because of complications from his disease had almost cost him the use of his arm. He wanted to stop anyone else from suffering the same way.

The Winchesters had moved away at the end of the school year, and Gray still missed his old friend and thought of him often.

He had kept in touch with Dean for a while, then toward the end of the summer, one of his letters had come back Return To Sender. He had immediately contacted Bobby, who had informed him that even he hadn't heard from John in a while.

Gray had applied for, and been accepted to, a boarding school for his senior year. He had left his address with Bobby, asking if he could forward it to Dean when he heard from them next. When Gray had come home for Christmas vacation, he went to Bobby's salvage yard and was told by a manager that Bobby was away for several months.

He hadn't come home after he'd graduated. His father hadn't been happy to find out that Gray wanted to go pre-med in college, rather than go into business so he could work in the family finance company, and he didn't want to deal with his father's lectures, so he had taken a job that summer, working in Connecticut, near Yale, where he had been accepted into the pre-med program on a full scholarship.

He wondered what Dean was doing now. He was probably putting his math skills to use and working at NASA or something, he thought fondly. Sam would probably be in his last year of university right now. Gray guessed one of the Ivy Leagues. He thought he remembered Sam mentioning something about law school.

For a brief second, he wondered if it was Sam and Dean, and there was a mistake, and somehow the name of the school they had gone to had ended up in the last name field. Their ages would be about right. He knew he was grasping at straws, but that still didn't stop him from checking their education. Sam, it seemed, was in his last year, pre-law at Stanford. Dean's had listed that he had graduated from Blacksburg High School in Virginia. There was no indication that the older brother had gone to college. Nothing to do with the Westcott Preparatory Academy, either.

He told himself not to be stupid. It couldn't be them. _Could it?_

_Stop it Gray, he told himself firmly._ He picked up the phone for reasons he didn't understand, as he and Patrick had agreed to hire someone with a medical background, or someone with diabetes to help relate to the campers. These brothers were just two guys looking for a summer job. It didn't seem like they had much experience, other than a couple of summers working at a camp Gray had never heard of.

"Sherry," he addressed the secretary. "Can you call Sam and Dean Westcott and ask them to come in for an interview.

--

Sam and Dean had just finished taking out the airplane demon and had been looking for their next gig. Sam noted that Dean seemed a little reluctant to take on anything, and wondered if it was because of their father's voice mail.

They had been trying to get a hold of their father for weeks, yet until the other day, they had just gotten the message saying that the phone was out of service. They were both relieved that they were now getting the answering machine.

Sam knew that despite Dean's protests that if their father didn't want to be found he wasn't going to be, his brother was worried sick about their father, that he might be injured, or worse. He knew that Dean was hurt that their father had just taken off without letting his elder son know, and that throwing himself into a hunt was his way of dealing with it.

It left the Sam wondering if the reason Dean was so reluctant now, was because he wanted to be available if their father called. Not that either expected it, but Sam was positive that Dean still clung to that hope.

This last case had rattled him. After the plane had landed, Dean had spent the next few days drive aimlessly, shooting down every case Sam had suggested. Sam wondered if Dean needed time to get his emotions back into their bottle. The fact that Dean was afraid to fly surprised him greatly. He knew that Dean hated to show weakness of any kind, and was wondering if his brother was mad at himself for showing Sam his vulnerability.

He wasn't sure how they had arrived in Maine, but they had pulled into town three days ago. Dean had gone to a bar and hustled pool to get them a motel room for a few days, saying that the Impala needed a tune up. Dean had then spent his days at a local do-it-yourself-salvage yard.

If Dean needed a break, Sam didn't understand why they hadn't just headed to South Dakota and stayed with Bobby. He asked his brother, but all Dean said was that this place was as good as any and headed out the door. Sam knew he had missed a lot in the last three and a half years, and he wondered if Dean and Bobby had had some sort of falling out. He really hoped not. The gruff mechanic meant the world to Dean. Sam suspected something had happened and he had a strong feeling that their father was involved, causing him to get mad at his dad all over again.

While Dean was at the salvage yard, Sam spent his days on his laptop looking for a job, anything to distract his brother. He had quickly found a job at the local summer camp, where strange incidents and accidents were taking place. It wasn't much of a lead, but they had investigated less. After a day of searching, it was the only thing in the area that Sam could find.

This job was going to be a harder sell than anything Sam had come up with. Dean was going to protest mightily. He hated camping, and Sam wasn't all that fond of it either, but the fact that a kid had gotten seriously injured was not something he could let go. Add to the fact that the summer camp was for children with diabetes, and Sam knew this was a job they had to take.

After all, Dean had been diagnosed with diabetes when he was 16. He was still technically a diabetic, and would still be taking insulin injections if Bobby hadn't found an amulet that suppressed his symptoms.

He made up fake resumes, using the last name Westcott, the name of the private school he and Dean had attended for a year. He had no idea why he had chosen that name, somehow it just seemed right. He made up some fake job experiences, and wondered if he should put down that Dean was diabetic. In the end, he decided not to. First, Dean would kill him, and second, he didn't want to have to try to explain to the camp why Dean didn't need insulin.

He went to the local post office and faxed in their applications. He wasn't expecting to be able to get the jobs, after all, the camp was probably looking for people with a medical background. It would be easier to have access, but if they didn't, they would find another way to be able to deal with the case. They always did.

He had been shocked when he had gotten the call for interviews. He honestly hadn't been expecting them. Now he just had to convince his stubborn older brother that they should do this.

--

"No!" Dean Winchester told his brother emphatically, after Sam had explained the hunt.

"Why not?" Sam huffed in an impatient tone.

"Because," was Dean's answer.

"You said it yourself, Dean. If we're not going to look for dad, we have to find something to hunt. This is as good a lead as any."

"Dude, wendigo, remember?" Dean said with a small touch of irritation in his voice at Sam bringing up their father.

"I remember. What does that have to do with anything?" Sam answered. He read Dean's tone and decided to not to mention their father again.

"What was the last thing I said to you before we left?"

"I hate camping," Sam said. "But this isn't the same thing," he insisted.

"Summer camp, it is so. Forget it. Find something else."

"Come on, Dean," Sam pleaded.

"Is there any part of no you don't understand? There must be some other fuglies out there. A kid falls, breaks a leg and a counsellor almost drowns. How does that make it our kind of thing?"

"Because the kid claims she felt someone push her and the counsellor, who was an Olympic swimmer, almost drowns in a calm lake in front of a 100 witnesses, and now the latest in incident says that a counsellor just disappeared."

"He probably got smart and took off. That still doesn't make it our kind of thing."

"Something is happening. The kid that broke her leg, almost lost it due to an infection."

"Sam," Dean said. "I feel for her, I really do, but I don't want to spend the summer in some bug infested hellhole. Can't we find a demon on Daytona beach or something?"

"It's not your ordinary summer camp," Sam explained. He decided it was time to play his trump card. "It's for children who have diabetes." Ever since they had investigated the ghost of Peter Sweeny, Sam had realized that Dean had a soft spot for children, so if he thought kids were getting hurt, he would be more than willing to take the job.

"Where is it located again?" Dean asked and Sam scented victory.

"Western Maine," he said with a grin as Dean grabbed his keys.

"I really hate you," Dean said as he opened the door and slammed it behind him.

Sam couldn't help but grin. He'd known that would work.

They were on the road for about an hour, and Sam had been secretly glancing over at his brother the whole time. Sam had wondered if maybe this hunt was a mistake. Dean looked tense and Sam knew he was thinking about the time he was 16. His own mind drifted back to when he was 12. That had been the happiest year of Sam's life. They got to spend a whole year living in one spot with no hunting. Sam knew that the year had been filled with ups and downs for Dean. He had been 16 and had just found out that he was suffering from diabetes, which was the reason for them settling down in the first place. He also noticed Dean's hand occasionally gripping the amulet that hung around his neck, as if making sure it was still there. If he took it off, all his symptoms would come back.

Sam couldn't help but think of Grayson Remington, a boy in Dean's class, who had become Dean's best friend. Sam, and even their father, had really liked him as well. He'd stuck by Dean through a lot during that year and Sam knew that even though Dean would never admit it, he hadn't really wanted to leave either.

It always made Sam feel bad that the two of them had lost touch, and again he blamed his father. Dean and Gray had exchanged letters, but then John had almost gotten arrested. He had just killed a werewolf and the police had found him standing over the dead man's body, and assumed it was what it looked like, that John had shot a man in cold blood. Through a combination of his marine and hunting training and pure luck, John had avoided capture. This had made it necessary for him and the boys to go deep undercover, though, they had gone so deep that not even Bobby knew where they were. John had forbidden his sons from writing to their friends, to avoid a paper trail.

When it had been safe to get a letter to Bobby, he had said that he wasn't sure were Gray was anymore. He had been deep undercover himself, in a witches' coven for months. When the job was done, Gray had gone off to college. Bobby offered to use his contacts to find the young man, but Dean refused. It had been two years since they had had any type of communication and Dean didn't want to bother him. He'd said that it was better this way, because they never knew when they would be required to break contact again. Sam and Bobby were both a little upset and sad that after everything that had happened, Dean was still trying to protect himself. They both knew the real reason that Dean didn't want to find Gray was that he was afraid of getting hurt if Gray didn't answer.

--

About two hours later, a shiny, black, classic 1967 Chevy Impala pulled off the main street onto a dirt road.

"My car better not get damaged by this friggin' bike path, Sam," Dean threatened as they hit a deep pothole. "I just fixed her up," Dean said with a whine in his voice.

"I promise to make any necessary repairs," Sam answered in an indulgent tone.

"Little brother, if you were the last mechanic on earth, I'd try to find life in a distant solar system."

"Like to see you try, Dean. It would require flying," Sam immediately retorted and then he cringed. It had just slipped out.

"Very funny," Dean said with no trace of humor in his voice. "I so hope this camp employs its own clown," Dean sneered.

"Shut up," Sam mumbled.

"Remind me why I'm taking this job again?" Dean asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Because we kill supernatural bad guys for a living and this camp seems to have one attached to it."

"I need a new day job," Dean grumbled as he pulled into the driveway. "Camp Sunshine, I must be out of my mind. I mean, who the hell names a camp Sunshine."

"What would you name it, Dean? Camp Metallica?" Sam read the look that came over his brother's face. "Hey, Dean, I was kidding."

--

"Gray, can I see you for a moment," a voice called out to him.

"I have my 12:00 appointment. Is it urgent?"

"We need you to sign off on the shipment to the medical hut. The supplier won't release it to anyone without an MD."

"Thanks Sherry," Gray said to the secretary and he got up. "I'm expecting two candidates for the counsellors' jobs. Can you show them into the office if they get here before I get back?"

"Sure, no problem," Sherry said agreeably.

It wasn't long before the two men Gray had been expecting showed up, and Sherry hoped they were hired just for the eye candy they would provide.

Dean and Sam were seated in the office of the camp director.

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into this," Dean grumbled.

"It's not so bad, Dean. This should be fun."

"Fun," Dean said in disbelief. "How is it going to be fun cleaning up after a bunch of kids? I hope the maintenance bunk is far away from the campers," he groused.

"Um, you're not exactly applying for a job in maintenance," Sam replied. He really was about to be killed.

"Sam," Dean said in a warning tone.

"Counsellor."

"Counsellor?" Dean said in disbelief. "I can't be in charge of the little kids. What do I know about kids?"

"I saw how you were with Lucas," Sam said. He couldn't believe that Dean had so little confidence in himself. "Not to mention the fact that you raised me."

"Dad raised you," Dean said coldly.

"Dean, come on…"

"Don't start, Sam," Dean snapped. "Dad did the best he could."

Before they could say anything more, the door opened. Sam and Dean rose and turned to greet the newcomer, but the words died on their lips.

Gray walked back into the main cabin and Sherry told him that his job applicants were in the office. Gray thanked her and then walked in to greet them. When he saw the two faces staring back at him, he knew who they were. He would have recognized them anywhere.

"Dean! Sam!"

"Gray!"

TBC

Please make my day and read and review. Even one makes me happy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I would like to add my usual thanks to my beta reader Soar, and to JuliaAurelia, Sinead-Conlan, and Soar for their comments and encouragement with this chapter.

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

"Dean! Sam!"

"Gray!"

The three men were all shocked into a stunned silence, none of them knowing what to say, each questioning if they were really seeing the other after all this time. It was a good four or five minutes before any of them reacted. The first one to break free was Gray. He quickly closed the gap and pulled Dean into a big hug.

Involuntarily, Dean stiffened, not expecting the physical contact.

"Damn, it's good to see you," Gray said genuinely, ignoring Dean's uneasiness. He knew his old friend well enough not to take it personally.

"Um, yeah, good to see you too," Dean stammered. He was still trying to get over the fact that he was staring at his friend from high school. It was good to see him, though.

"Sam," Gray said and turned and gave him a big hug as well.

"It's great to see you," Sam said smiling.

"Have a seat," Gray said waving his hands toward the two chairs.

Gray walked behind the desk and sat down, still a little shocked. He had to put that aside, though, as there was business to attend to.

"There's so much I want to ask you guys, so much to catch up on, and as much as I want to do it right now, we have campers arriving within the hour and two counsellors that we need to replace desperately, so I need to keep this all business. The first thing I need to ask is why your resumes are saying Westcott."

"Typo?" Sam offered up a lame excuse and glanced over at his brother, who had yet to say a word. Dean was the liar, the one who came up with excuses and cover stories. Right now, though, the cat seemed to have his tongue.

Dean was still trying to process events. He had no problem lying to strangers, but he hated lying to friends. He had lied about having diabetes and when Gray had found out, he had been hurt that Dean hadn't trusted him. In this case, however, the truth would be far worse. It would get them thrown out of here and maybe even arrested, and Dean knew that Gray would never speak to him again. Even though he hadn't seen his friend in 10 years, that thought still caused a chill to run through him and he suppressed a shudder. He had no choice though, Sam was about to blow their cover.

"Stupid printers," Dean said lacing his tone thick with disgust.

"Excuse me?" Gray said a little bewildered.

"Those idiots that did our resumes, they must have screwed up. I bet it doesn't say anything on there about us going to school at Westcott does it?"

"No," Gray confirmed.

"Our computer conked out on us and we had to go to one of those copy shops to get our resumes printed. Guy behind the counter only seemed interested in getting out of there for the day." Dean stopped and punched Sam in the shoulder. "Told ya it was a bad idea to go there."

Sam bit back a cry of pain. _That had hurt._ "Yeah, you were right," Sam ground out, hoping that his tone would be blamed on the messed up paper work and not at having to admit that Dean was right. He was never going to hear the end of it.

Dean gave him a small smirk.

--

Gray was really impressed over the fact that they had managed to come up with that BS story fairly quickly. Ever since he had met Dean, he'd had a feeling that there was a part of the Winchesters' life that he didn't know about, and would never be allowed to. Part of him was hurt that they didn't trust him enough to let him in, though.

Gray really didn't know what to do. Based on their resumes, and the fact that they had obviously lied on them, Gray was willing to bet that Sam's experiences were as phoney as Dean's story about printer error, he would never have hired them.

The camp had had its share of bad publicity lately, what with the accidents last year, and one more thing could cause the camp to be shut down. The camp did so much good for people that he had to put it first, he shouldn't be thinking twice about telling Sam and Dean that their services weren't needed.

So why was every instinct he possessed telling him to hire the Winchester brothers? Why did he feel that they _**were**_ needed? Could it be that he missed his old friend and wanted him to stick around? _That must be it, he tried to convince himself._

"Alright, so why do you want to work at Camp Sunshine?" Gray asked.

"It's such a good cause," Sam replied. "Plus, I enjoy working with children."

"Um, ditto," Dean added.

Sam just glared at him.

"Plus, you know, I can relate to the campers," Dean added quickly.

"Dean, what experience have you had?"

"Not much, but I had... have had diabetes since I was 16, as you know, so I know what the kids go through."

"Sam?" Gray said looking at the younger Winchester brother.

"Couple of summers at a kids' camp near Palo Alto."

--

As Gray progressed through the interview, his mind continued to work on overdrive. All their answers sounded plausible. Maybe he was wrong and it was just a simple mix up. _Keep telling yourself that, maybe you'll start to believe it, his cynical self told him._

Despite all that, he honestly felt that Sam and Dean didn't mean any harm to anyone. He also felt that there were some kids that Dean could really help with his experiences. They didn't have a lot of counsellors that were diabetic, most were doctors, nurses, med students, or parents of diabetics. Patrick trusted his judgment, so if he decided to hire them, he could justify it. If not for the last name difference. This camp meant everything to the elder physician, and he would insist on looking further into the mix up to make sure that Sam and Dean were legitimate. Gray had no idea why they felt the need to lie about their last name.

_Wait a minute. When did I decide to hire them?_ Yet, he knew that his mind was made up.

"Welcome to Camp Sunshine," Gray said with a smile.

"We got the job?" Sam said in a surprised tone.

"Yup, the only thing that remains is to determine which one of you wants the job in Cabin 9B, which is 16 year old boys, and who wants 3B which the 10 year olds."

Sam was quicker. "I'll take 9B," he replied. 16 year olds were practically adults. It would make his job easier.

"Dean, you okay with that?" Gray asked.

"Yeah," Dean replied with a hidden smile. Sam didn't know what he was getting himself into.

Gray smiled. "Come on then. I'll give you a quick tour of the camp, and introduce you to the other staff. I'm sorry you guys are basically being thrown into the deep end."

"It's okay," Dean said sincerely. "We're used to it."

"We'll make our first stop the medical cabin. Dean, I imagine you need to get your insulin in the fridge."

"Um, I'll just, um, keep it with me," Dean stammered. He really was going to kill Sam. How were they going to pull this one off?

"Sorry, camp rules are that all meds are to be kept in the medical cabin, even aspirin."

"It's fine for now," Dean said. "I'll get it a bit later and drop it off to you.

"He uses an insulin pump now," Sam blurted out as the idea suddenly occurred to him. This way, Dean wouldn't have to explain why he didn't need to go inject insulin three times a day.

Dean looked at Sam like he was crazy and his little brother gave him a look that said he would explain later.

"Fine, you can bring it to dinner tomorrow. Then you guys can explain that obvious BS story you just gave me about your resumes, and we can catch up on old times, and you guys can meet my wife and son," Gray said with a knowing smirk.

Sam and Dean didn't get a chance to respond before he headed out the door.

"You are so dead," Dean informed his brother and followed Gray out the door.

--

"The campers range in age from 8 to 17," Gray explained as he took his newest staff members on a tour around the grounds. "There are about 6 campers in each cabin. You'll be in charge for the most part, but you'll have a CIT, or counsellor in training, who'll be giving you a hand. You'll have scheduled time off every day and one day each week the CIT will be totally in charge. The schedules are in your itineraries," Gray explained and handed them each a large envelope of papers. "We try to keep this as normal a summer camp as possible, but it's very important to keep in your mind that your campers all have a serious medical condition. There's a large medical staff, so there's always someone around if you need help, and each cabin has a panic button for emergencies. You'll both need to attend the training seminar tonight, it's for anyone without a medical background. It'll go over signs and symptoms and things to watch for with your campers. I know you probably don't need it, Dean, but it's required."

"No problem," Dean confirmed.

Gray paused and stopped in front of a cabin. "Sam, this is your home."

Sam and Dean followed Gray into the cabin and Sam was introduced to his CIT, Jeff Wilkins. Jeff was a nursing student and about Sam's age.

"Hey, Sam," Dean called out to his brother as Sam went to settle in.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"No fear," Dean said cryptically.

Sam wondered what the hell he was talking about.

--

"So what have you been up to?" Gray asked Dean as he led the way to Dean's cabin.

"Not much," Dean said non-committally.

"You go to MIT?" Gray inquired. Dean had mentioned that his math teacher had thought he could get in.

"Um, no," Dean said a little uncomfortably. "I didn't go to college."

"Why not?" Gray wanted to know. "I thought you wanted to go into forensics."

"Changed my mind," Dean said. "I... um, work as a... mechanic," Dean finished.

"You working with Bobby?"

"No. So how long you been married?" Dean asked quickly changing the subject.

A big grin lit up Gray's face. "Four years. Kim was doing her undergrad at Yale, and we met in our final year. After she graduated, she went to the University of Maine. She's a veterinarian. I transferred to the med school up there. During my second year of med school, Kim discovered she was pregnant, so we decided to get married. We were planning to get married after we graduated, but Zack just sped things up a little. It was tough being parents and finishing our degrees, but we did it. I'm in my second year residency at Maine General Hospital, and when I finish, I want to specialize in working with kids with diabetes. You and Sam are coming to dinner tomorrow night, by the way. Kim's bringing Zack for the weekend and I want you to meet them. "

"That's great," Dean said, genuinely happy for his friend.

"Here we are," Gray said, pointing out Dean's cabin and introducing him to Troy, a CIT who had been a camper for the previous two years.

--

Dean surveyed the cabin that was to be his home for the next two weeks. It looked like your stereotypical summer camp cabin. There were three sets of bunk beds, and alongside each bed was a dresser for the boys to store clothes and other belongings. A small single bed was set slightly apart from the other bunks for Troy. There was also a small curtained off area for Dean and he was grateful for the small amount of privacy. In the middle of the room, there was a table where the boys could play games or cards.

The kids weren't there yet, so Dean took the opportunity to study the information Gray had given him. The itinerary consisted of his scheduled time off, and the list of activities planned for them, complete with injection schedules and blood sugar tests.

Dean concentrated on his roster. He had 6 ten year old boys, Robert Wedgeford, Trevor Stokes, Isaac Walters, Xavier Garcia, Corey Aikens, and Steven Smith.

He had barely read the last word when the door opened and the first of his campers walked in. Over the next hour, there were more introductions, handshakes, goodbyes and tears. Mostly from the parents, Dean noted. There was only one of his campers, Steven, who allowed a few tears to escape. According to the records Dean had been given, Steven had been a diabetic for just three months. Dean could understand him being a little nervous.

The boys quickly chose their bunks and were talking excitedly about all the things they wanted to do.

"Okay guys," Dean addressed the group. "I'm going to be your counsellor for the next 2 weeks. We're going to have great time, but we have a few things we need to address first, so if you gentlemen would have a seat, we can get this out of the way and get right down to the fun."

The boys groaned but did as asked. Dean noticed that Steven seemed to hesitate, as if he was a little nervous to leave the safety of his bunk. The young hunter vowed to keep an eye on him and draw him out of his shell.

Sitting down with them, Dean addressed the group. "First, the rules. I am Supreme Commander Dean Wi... Westcott. So you guys can either call me Commander, or just Dean if you prefer. Troy here is second in command."

"You can call me number one," Troy added, getting into the spirit of things as he was a big Star Trek fan.

A couple of the boys giggled, letting Dean relax slightly. "Now, a Commander is only as good as his crew, so we're going to need to give each of you jobs here in Cabin 3B. The first order a business is a new name for our cabin, 'cause I mean 3B is just..."

"Boring," Trevor supplied.

"Exactly," Dean confirmed. "I'm kind of partial to Zeppelin myself."

"What's that?" Xavier asked.

"I have a lot to teach you guys," Dean said with a look of sadness on his face. "Zeppelin is actually short for Led Zeppelin and they're the greatest rock band that ever lived."

"They're also a type of airship that was made in Germany, we studied them in school," Robert said.

The boys all began talking at once. "Cool." "Awesome." "Planes are wicked." "I like it."

"Let's vote," Dean said. Naming the cabin Zeppelin after the ship instead of the band was something he could live with, even though he hated planes.

"Cabin Zeppelin now has a name. Do you like school, Private Wedgeford?"

"Yeah, commander," Robert said with enthusiasm.

"From now on, you're the official researcher for our cabin."

The boy smiled. "Awesome," he said.

"Now we need to make a new plaque for the cabin. Who wants to be the creative director?"

"I do," Trevor said. "Art's my favourite subject at school."

"Any objections?" Dean asked, glad that this was working out so well. The military approach could have backfired. "You'll be in charge of making things for the group. Now, is there someone with good organization skills? We need an equipment manager. Someone who can make sure we have everything when we go to an activity."

"I play hockey," Isaac said. "My dad makes me put my own bag together and I haven't forgotten anything yet."

"You're hired," Dean replied. "Now what about an informant?"

"What's that?" Corey asked.

"Someone who can spy on other cabins, and determine if they have something cooler than we do. That can't happen since Zeppelin's the most awesome cabin around," Dean confided with a conspiratorial wink.

The boys agreed enthusiastically and high fived each other, and then Xavier volunteered for the job, explaining that his father was a detective. The others pronounced that wicked cool, which Dean figured was the ultimate compliment when you were ten.

"Now, we need an entertainment director. His job is to make suggestions for the group when there is free time and someone needs something to do," Dean said listing the next job.

"Can I do that?" Corey asked.

"'Course," Dean confirmed. He looked to Steven. The boy had yet to speak. "Hey, Steven, any specific job you want?" Dean asked. He was out of ideas and was desperately racking his brains to come up something.

"Anything's fine," the boy said quietly and Dean was thankful when an idea popped into his head. "I'm glad you said that because we have the most important job left. You up for it?"

"I, um, think so," Steven mumbled.

"I'm making you the designated hitter. If one of the others is busy and can't fulfill his duties, you can step in. It's a… wicked cool job."

Dean's spirits were lifted when the boy gave him a genuine smile.

"Now, one more thing. We do have a few serious things to discuss. Each of you has diabetes, so I need your trust. If any of you doesn't feel quite right, about anything, no matter how small or how dumb it may seem, you have tell me or Troy."

"I passed out once at school," Steven mumbled. "It was embarrassing. Kids laughed at me."

Dean felt like finding those kids and giving them a serious talking too. "I did too," Dean confided sympathetically.

"You have diabetes?" Corey asked.

"Yeah," Dean confirmed and hated himself for lying. "It was my second day back to class after my diagnosis. I was in gym and the next thing I knew, I was passed out cold on the floor. The nurse gave me a glucose shot, and then to top it all off, I puked right there on the gym floor in front of everyone. I'm not just trying to humor you when I say I know what you guys go through. That's why I don't care if you think you're overreacting to something. Communication is the key. I don't want to sound like your parents or doctors, but if any of you need to talk, you can come to me. You name it, I've done it, so don't be embarrassed about anything. For right now, though, it's summer, and we're here to have fun. Private Walters, I believe we're scheduled for swimming right now."

"Does everyone have their towels?" Isaac addressed the group. "And don't forget sunscreen," he added after Dean whispered in his ear.

--

Like Dean, Sam's first task was to go over the information he had been given, and greet his campers and their parents when they arrived.

Five out of the six, Austin Brown, Travis Wayne, Nick Miller, Ryan Salter, and Nathan Livingston, were enthusiastic about being there, and they easily claimed bunks and introduced themselves. There was one camper, though, Kevin Jensen, who barely said two words before slamming his belongings on a bunk down in the corner.

"Alright everyone, I'm Sam Westcott, and I'm your counsellor," he said in his regular tone. He quickly found that didn't work when he was ignored.

"Guys," Sam said once again, trying to sound more forceful and get their attention. Second thoughts were starting to form about this job, and he was starting to feel self doubt. What the hell did he know about taking care of kids?

Travis and Austin eyed their counsellor and started to discuss the first prank they were going to play on him. He seemed like easy pickings.

"We have to go for swimming tests now," Sam replied.

"Can we go boating?" Nick asked.

"Not until you take your swimming tests," Sam explained, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. "So I need everyone to follow me."

"I don't want to go swimming," Ryan insisted. "I want to go see what the girls are up to."

"Everyone's going swimming," Sam said trying to sound firm.

"Let's go horseback riding," Travis said.

"I want to go play soccer."

"We're scheduled for swimming," Sam tried again. What was going on? Sam had really thought he was going to have an easy time. When Dean had been a teenager, he had been practically running the household.

That's when Sam realized where he had made his mistake. His big brother had never been a typical teenager. He'd had more responsibility at 16 than some adults and right now, Sam realized that he was dealing with 6 kids who were exactly like himself when he had been 16. That was a scary thought.

"We're going swimming," Jeff said in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Thanks," Sam whispered to him gratefully.

"You need to put your foot down or they're going to run right over you," Jeff explained.

"I guess that's what my brother meant when he said no fear," Sam said.

"You got that right," Jeff said. "Kevin, are you coming?" Jeff asked when the boy made no move to get off his bed.

"No," the boy said sullenly.

Sam remembered from the documents that Gray had given him that Kevin was barely a month over diagnosis, and he was having a really tough time adjusting. He refused to take his insulin or follow his diet. Kevin's doctor had recommended coming here, hoping that being around others like himself would help make things a little easier for him to accept.

"Sam, I'll talk to Kevin, you take the others to the lake. I'll meet you there."

"Thanks, Jeff," Sam replied. He had decided already that this job was a huge mistake. He was in way over his head. He really should have taken the 10 year olds.

Sam's thoughts drifted to his older brother and he wondered how Dean was making out. _Probably had the kids eating out of the palm of his hand, Sam thought with a snort. _The way Dean had connected with Lucas still amazed Sam, although he didn't know why he was surprised, after all, Dean had pretty much raised him.

--

The rest of the day was extremely busy for both brothers. They barely saw each other as they led their campers to and from check ups, supper and various other activities. The brothers never even had a chance to talk during their free time, because Steven had asked Dean if he'd go to the camp movie with them. He didn't have the heart to say no, mostly because it was the only thing Steven had asked for all day. After the movie, Sam and Dean had their training seminar. They both hoped that they could get together the next day. They had a case to solve after all.

Sam was glad that he did have the time to get one important task completed. During his free time, Sam managed to make a phone call to Jefferson Ames, a friend of their dad. Sam didn't particularly like him, but he could get anything, and quickly. When Sam explained what he needed, Jefferson promised it would arrive in the morning mail.

--

The second day was a carbon copy of the first. Sam really couldn't wait to speak with Dean. He was having trouble getting his campers to listen to him, in particular, Austin and Nick. They weren't bad kids, they were just acting like teenagers and seeing what Sam would let them get away with.

Sam knew it was partly his own fault, as he really needed to put his foot down, but he wasn't really sure how. He was worried that he would come across like his father, and he didn't want them to hate him. He wanted to be their friend.

One good thing was that Jefferson had come through for him. One of the counsellors delivering mail brought him a package. He wondered how Jefferson had managed to get it to him so fast. _Actually, on second thought, I don't think I want to know, Sam decided._

It contained an insulin pump. Dean could attach it to his belt and just tape the needle to his skin. It took care of him not needing insulin. Now they just had to deal with Dean's blood sugar readings.

No diabetic, no matter how good their control was, ever had perfect blood sugar readings all the time. It was going to raise a red flag eventually and Sam was at a loss as to how to deal with that.

The day was so busy that he didn't get a chance to speak to Dean until their free time came up. He and Dean were expected at Gray's for dinner, and Sam hoped that they could come up with a cover story on the drive there. He walked towards Dean's cabin and shook his head when he saw that the marker that labelled the cabin as 3B had been removed, and a plaque reading Zeppelin was in its place.

He could see Dean sitting on the ground, with all the kids sprawled in various positions on the ground in a semi-circle around him. Sam was surprised at just how relaxed and happy Dean looked, and the kids seemed to be hanging on his every word.

"Hey, Dean," Sam called to get his brother's attention as he approached.

"Hey," Dean replied with a wave. "Crew, this is my brother, Sam."

"Hey, commander you were right," Isaac exclaimed. "He is bigger than a tree."

Sam just shot his brother death glare.

"Hey, I like your bracelet," Xavier said. "It's just like the ones on your wrist, commander."

"Thanks," Sam said to the boy. "It's actually part of a set. I wear one and Dean wears two. There called brother bands."

"It's awesome," Xavier said. "Commander, can we make some for our cabin?"

"Of course. Excellent work, Informant Garcia."

The little boy beamed.

"Do you all want them?" Dean asked his campers and they all cried yes, even Steven. "Alright, Private Wedgeford, I want you to do your research thing and come up with a design you all like, and Private Stokes, can you make them for us at arts and crafts tomorrow?"

"Yup," the young boy confirmed, eager to get started.

"I'll leave you guys with number one," Dean said and accepted high fives from his campers.

"Commander? Zeppelin?" Sam questioned as he and Dean made their way toward the parking lot.

"It was their idea," Dean said with a shrug and a tiny grin.

--

Gray had a private cabin that was located off camp grounds. Both brothers were a little nervous about what they were going to say to him, both about Dean's diabetes, and about why their resumes sported the last name Westcott.

"I called Jefferson," Sam said.

"What for?" Dean asked curiously. Sam and Jefferson did not get along at all.

"I needed this," Sam said and pulled out the little device.

"What's that?"

"It's an insulin pump. You can put it on your belt and just tape the needle to your skin. There's no insulin in it, of course, but it explains why you don't need injections. I had Jefferson send a few pre-filled insulin cartridges as well. That way you have something to turn in to the medical cabin."

"Motley Crue," Dean corrected.

"What are you talking about?" Sam wanted to know.

"The guy who named the cabins is seriously lacking in imagination. The medical cabin is now referred to as Motley Crew."

"Do I even want to know?" Sam asked with a small shake of his head.

"You know. They sing Dr. Feelgood," Dean explained as if it should be obvious.

Sam resisted the urge to groan. "What about the admin cabin?" Sam asked as they passed it.

"That would be Springsteen. The home of the boss."

"You're hopeless, you know that," Sam said affectionately.

"How does this thing work?" Dean replied as he took the insulin pump from his brother.

"We just need it to fool Gray," Sam replied.

"You do know that's not going to be easy," Dean said in a concerned tone. "I mean, he saw right through us."

"He must still trust us though," Sam reasoned. "I mean, he hired us. We can just tell him I'm switching my major to journalism and want to do a story on the camp."

"Do you really think he'll buy that?" Dean asked, disbelief coloring his tone.

"No," Sam agreed. "We'll think of something. We always do."

"I hope you're right, Sammy. Come on, we'd better get going."

TBC

Please remember to make my day and read and review. It only takes one to make me happy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I would like to thank Soar for the awesome beta job, and Sinead-Conlan and JuliaAurelia for all their feedback on this chapter.

Disclaimer: Still don't own

"Penny for your thoughts," a feminine voice called out to the man sitting on the back porch swing.

Gray looked up from watching his four year old son frolic in the big, open yard, chasing Yoda, his cocker spaniel, a big smile lighting up his face as his wife walked toward him.

"I don't think they're worth that much," Gray chuckled lightly, as he moved aside to let Kim sit next to him. Zack stopped his play to take the opportunity to wave to his mom. She waved back and the little boy continued with his game.

"Looking forward to Dean and Sam's visit?" she guessed. Kim was actually looking forward to meeting the Winchester brothers herself. Her husband had talked about them many times in the past, and she very much wanted to meet the man who'd made such a lasting impression on her husband, even through they hadn't known each other all that long.

"Yeah," Gray said genuinely. "It's been so long since I last saw them. I can't wait to catch up."

"Why do I hear a big but in there?" Kim inquired.

Gray sighed heavily and paused to gather his thoughts. "I guess it just bugs me that they lied," he said in a hurt tone. "Why did they do it?" He had told Kim the whole story. He could never keep anything from her.

"I'm sure they'll tell you tonight," Kim said. "You must still trust them. I mean, you hired them, despite it."

"Did I make a mistake?" Gray said a little insecurely. "I've never lied to Patrick before. I told Sam and Dean to keep using Westcott to prevent him from asking too many questions."

"That famous gut kick in again? I swear you could have been a cop," Kim said trying to put Gray at ease with his decision. He often felt strongly about things, and he was rarely ever wrong.

"Dad would have just loved that," Gray said bitterly.

"Hey now. He's not that bad," Kim replied.

"No, he's worse," Gray reminded her.

"He likes me," she pointed out. "He must have some taste, and he adores Zack."

"He adores the fact that he has a grandson," Gray corrected dryly.

"Still, Gray, you have to meet your dad halfway. He's trying. Even after he found out about Zack's condition."

"I'll give him that," Gray replied. He looked toward his son affectionately.

Kim could see the sadness in Gray's eyes. It was something they both felt. "He's doing great, and with the progress medical science is making, things could change."

"I know. It's just that..."

Before he could finish his thoughts, they both heard the rumble of a car pulling up into the driveway. Kim couldn't help but laugh at the smile that suddenly broke out on Gray's face. "Go say hi," she prodded. "We'll talk about this later. Right now we have guests and you are a Remington, after all. We do have reputations to uphold," she repeated in a snobby tone that eerily reminded Gray of his mother.

He pulled his wife into a big hug. "Did I ever tell you how much I loved you?"

"Many times. It's why we have Zack, remember?" she teased.

Gray laughed and went to go answer the door.

--

"I think we should just leave," Dean suggested as he pulled the Impala into the driveway.

"Forget it," Sam replied. "For one thing, I know you're looking forward to this, and for another, there's no way Gray didn't hear the car pull in."

Dean ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He knew Sam was right on both counts, but for the whole ride over, they had argued about cover stories and neither could come up with a story that they felt Gray would believe.

"We'll just have to go with the reporter story," Dean said. He reached over to his glove compartment, opened it, grabbed the cigar box and rifled through it, looking for the reporter's badge. He found what he was looking for and put the box back.

"Here," Dean said handing it to his brother. "If Gray asks to see it, try and keep the name covered, it says Samuel Beatty."

"What group is he with?" Sam asked. Dean always picked aliases from classic rock bands, and he couldn't place this one.

"He was a famous mathematician. I'd tell you what for, but it would go over your head."

"And you're the one who calls me a geek," Sam shot back, knowing that Dean was right. Math was his weakest subject and Dean's strongest. His brother had been in advanced classes in high school. Sam knew that Dean could have done well if he had gone to college, and he felt resentful towards his father all over again. _Now's not the time, though, he thought to himself.  
_  
"Shut up, college boy. Now, tell me, how does this work?" Dean changed the subject and picked up the insulin pump.

Sam examined it. He picked up the clear plastic tube, pulled off the needle that was attached to the end and handed it back to his brother. "Attach it to your belt and tape the end of the tube to your abdomen."

"You could have mentioned this before you left. The first aid kit is in my duffle back at camp. How am I supposed to tape this to myself?" Dean inquired.

"What about the spare one?" Sam asked. "The one we always keep in the car?"

"It was in our duffle when we went after that Wendigo, because the other one wasn't restocked," Dean reminded his brother. "We used it to patch Tommy up, so it's probably in the middle of the Colorado woods. I got an idea though."

Sam watched as Dean, once again, rummaged through the glove compartment and pulled out a roll of silver tape. He put the pump on his belt and pulled a small piece of tape from the roll, lifted his shirt and taped the tube in place. He turned toward his brother. "Duct tape, is there anything it can't do?" he said in his best Homer Simpson impression.

"You're nuts," Sam said affectionately.

"Come on, Lisa, let's go," Dean said getting out of the car and heading towards the front door.

They reached the porch just as Gray opened the front door and waved to them. They returned the greeting and walked up the steps.

As they approached, Gray couldn't help but remember the first time he'd met the person who had turned into his very best friend.

--

_**1989**_

Gray Remington walked down the hall on his first day of his junior year at Westcott Preparatory Academy. He needed to go to his locker and get his books for his Latin class.

He had been at Westcott since kindergarten, so it was easy for him to pick out a new face in the crowd. When he'd approached his locker, he'd seen that a new kid had the locker next to his. Most new kids looked a little lost, Westcott was a large campus after all, but the kid standing next to his locker looked miserable. He looked totally uncomfortable in his uniform, kind of like a seventh grader on his way to his first dance. The only thing Gray didn't know was if he was a scholarship student, or the son of an employee.

He'd always had a soft spot for lost puppies and strays, as Cody kept telling him, so he walked forward, took a deep breath and said, "Aw, man, I can't believe I got stuck with Latin."

He watched as the boy in front of him looked around and then finally turned his gaze toward him, as if he couldn't believe that Gray was actually talking to him.

"You don't like it?" the boy mumbled back.

"No way. I wanted French. We spend summers in Paris and I can speak it perfectly."

The boy's eyes lit up, as if Gray had said something he could identify with, and then admitted that he already spoke Latin, thanks to a friend of his father who was a pastor. Gray had replied that his mother wouldn't let him take French for that reason. He followed Dean down the hall and asked if he could copy his Latin homework as a way of breaking the ice.

Gray had thought for a moment that he'd seen fear in Dean's eyes when he mentioned it. It was hard to tell because in the next moment, his face was a mask of indifference and he had shrugged and said, "If you want."

That's when Gray introduced himself, with an imitation of his snobby mother, hoping to make Dean laugh. It took a minute, but Dean finally chuckled and introduced himself.

Gray recalled that their relationship had started slowly. They'd been assigned to do a history project together, and if he had thought Dean had been uncomfortable at school, it was nothing compared to how Dean was at Gray's house. Poor guy had looked like he was about to jump out of his skin.

After they had finished working on their assignment, he had invited Dean to hang out in his room, and with just the two of them, Dean had been more relaxed and opened up, somewhat. He was reluctant to talk about himself, but he seemed to like to talk about his brother. Gray was actually a little bit jealous of the affection Dean had toward Sam. He had an older brother that couldn't stand him.

He ended up with his foot in his mouth when Dean admitted that his mother had been a teacher. Had. Past tense. Gray had felt bad that he'd been complaining about his mother the whole time. He had apologized, but Dean dismissed it, admitted that she had died in a fire, but wouldn't say anything more on the subject.

The next day, Gray had gone to Dean's house. He'd also met Pastor Jim that day and really liked him. He'd met Bobby a short while later and found his affection for the small family growing every day. It was so relaxing at Dean's house, that Gray enjoyed being in their tiny, run down house more than he did his own mansion, and he constantly found excuses for why Dean couldn't come to his place. He much preferred Dean's.

The only thing Gray was a little wary of was Sam and Dean's father. They were the only kids he knew of that called their father sir. He seemed stern, but Dean spoke of him with nothing but affection, and Gray gradually relaxed around him, until one day, Dean had shown up with a bruise on his cheek just before they were about to move. Dean had claimed something fell on him, but Gray knew there had been more to the story.

--

_**Present**_

_More to the story._ Gray had a feeling that was the story of Dean's life, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"Hey," a voice said, shaking Gray out of his thoughts.

"Hey," he returned the greeting to the two men. "Come on in," he said invitingly.

Sam and Dean followed him. They all stood around awkwardly for a moment, not really knowing what to say.

Looking around, Sam was impressed. This cabin was bigger than some houses, yet despite the size, it had a comfortable, homey feeling. There was dark wood panelling on the walls, hardwood floors, and lots of pictures on the walls. It was tidy, but there were a few toys scattered here and there, and dust on some of the ornaments. It looked lived in and inviting.

Dean quickly decided that he would love to take advantage of the big screen TV he could see in the living room.

"Nice," Sam said appreciatively.

"Thanks," Gray said. "I have to thank the woman of the house. She's the one with the... oooff," Gray grunted when something barrelled into him. He looked down and smiled.

"Hey Zacky," Gray greeted and reached down, picked up his pride and joy and hugged him.

"Daddy," the little boy said returning his father's hug. "Mommy wants..." _cough, cough._ "Mommy said to ask you if you want steak or pork chops."

"Why don't you ask our guests," Gray said to the two men standing in front of him.

The little boy turned his head into his father's shoulder. "He's a little shy," Gray explained. "Sam, Dean this is my son Zack. Zacky, this is my best friend Dean, and his brother Sam."

The little boy turned to his father. "That's my name," he said and shot a glare at Dean, as if Dean had stolen it.

Dean looked surprised that Gray still introduced him as his best friend, and that Gray's son had his name.

"Zackary Dean Remington," Gray explained. He turned back to his boy. "Remember, buddy, daddy named you after his best friend."

"I 'member." Zack turned toward the men. "Pork chops or steak?" he repeated and then coughed again. "I want hot dogs," he pouted.

"Me too," Dean said breaking his silence. "Hot dogs are good."

"You like hot dogs?" the little boy asked in surprise. "Daddy's friends all like yucky steak."

"Hot dogs are the best," Dean said firmly.

"Daddy, can we have hot dogs?"

"Sure, go tell mommy." Gray put the boy down, but instead of running out of the room, he went to Dean and grabbed his hand. "Come see my room," he insisted. "Daddy got me a new dump truck."

Dean looked towards Gray. "Better do as he asks," Gray replied, and Dean helplessly followed the child out of the room.

"How does he do that?" Sam wondered.

"Do what?"

"His cabin. He had those kids eating out of his hand within the first 10 minutes. I'm lucky I haven't woken up covered in itching powder yet. We aren't even here for five minutes and it happens again," Sam said with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Gray just laughed. "I think Zack suspects a kindred spirit in your brother. Come on, I want to introduce you to my better half. I'll get Kim to make something along with the hot dogs."

"Don't go to any trouble," Sam replied. "I'm okay with hot dogs."

The two men walked into the kitchen. "So what's the verdict?" Kim asked.

"Hot dogs," Gray replied.

"Zack strikes again," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah. Kim, this is Sam. Sam, this is my wife, Kim."

"Nice to meet you, Sam," Kim said extending her hand. Sam shook it. "Where's Dean?"

"Zack insisted on showing him his new dump truck."

"That was quick," she said lightly. "He usually doesn't take to strangers. It's no trouble, Sam, if you want steak or pork chops," Kim offered their guest.

"No, really hot dogs are fine," Sam replied, even though he would have liked a thick, juicy steak. He knew Dean would normally insist on them, Dean liked steak as much as anyone, but he also had a soft spot for kids, and if Zack wanted him to eat hot dogs with him, Dean would do so. _Then he'd polish off a steak too, Sam thought. Dean would eat anything and a lot of it._

"Um, Gray, did you tell Dean about Zack's condition?" Kim asked, knowing Dean was bound to see the medical equipment in Zack's room.

"I never even thought. I'd better go," Gray said and left the kitchen, leaving Sam standing there confused.

--

"This is my room," Zack said proudly as he led Dean inside.

Dean looked around. It was bigger than some hotels they had stayed in. The walls were painted a soft blue, and the sheets on Zack's race car bed, that Dean would have loved to have had when he was a kid, had Star Wars sheets on them. There were shelves overflowing with toys, from GI Joe to board games, and lots of books. There was an entire shelf devoted just to toy cars of just about every shape and size. Zack's new dump truck was one of the motorized, ride on ones, and when he pushed a button, the bucket in the back really moved up and down. Dean had to admit that the kid had taste.

"Daddy said I can..." _cough, cough, cough. _"Daddy said I can take it out after dinner tonight and try it. I can't wait until I'm bigger, and I can ride on a real one. I'm gonna be a builder."

"That sounds cool, Zack," Dean said appreciatively.

"Want to know a secret?"

"I love secrets," Dean as he knelt down to the child's eye level. "Thanks for sharing. I won't tell, promise."

"Daddy's birfday is coming, and I got him a present. Wanna see it, but you can't tell. Mommy said birfday presents are a secret."

Dean had forgotten Gray's birthday was coming up shortly. "What did you get him?" He made his tone sound excited while he tried to think of something he could get Gray. He watched as Zack stopped and coughed again, and he was beginning to wonder if Zack was getting a cold or something. He hoped not. He really hated the thought of kids being sick or hurt. No sooner had the words entered his head than his eyes landed on Zack's bedside table, and he spotted the oxygen tank and mask resting on top of it.

"That's my breathing machine," the little boy said when he saw Dean staring at it. "It helps me breath when my CF makes it hard. I made this for daddy. Do you like it?"

Dean had a hard time tearing his eyes away from the medical equipment and focusing his thoughts back on what Zack was showing him.

He found himself staring at a plaster hand print, and underneath was written Zacky, traced in a child's shaky hand. Dean still loved it though. He had made something similar for his father once. He had no idea how Bobby knew, but the mechanic had told him his father still had it.

"It's awesome, Zack. Gray's…uh, your dad's going to love it. You better put it back in its hiding spot though, before your dad sees it."

"My birfday is the same day as daddy's, did you know that? Are you going to get me something? Will you come to my birfday?"

"Let's see, the answer to your questions are no, yes, and yes," Dean replied.

"You're funny."

"So I'm told. Come on, let's get back. I'm starving."

"Me too," Zack said. He went and put the present for his father carefully back into its hiding spot, just as Gray walked into the room.

"Zack, your mom needs you to help set the table," he said. "Me and Dean will join you shortly."

--

When his son's footsteps faded down the hall, Gray turned back toward Dean.

"Is Zack sick, Gray?" Dean asked.

There was no mistaking the sadness that washed over Gray's face. "Yeah. He was born with a genetic disorder called cystic fibrosis. Long story short, he's missing an enzyme, and it causes mucus to form in his lungs, leaving him prone to infection."

"He'll be okay though, right?" Dean asked. "Gray, talk to me," Dean said when Gray turned away at his question.

"It's a progressive disease and no matter what we do, it'll continue to get wor… worse," Gray said with a hitch in his voice. He stopped for a moment and then turned back toward Dean. "Medical science is improving though. Most patients with CF these days are living into their thirties, and some even to their forties and fifties. He'll probably need a lung transplant at some point, though."

"Gray..." Dean started. What did you say to that? Gray's son might not make it to thirty.

"It's okay," Gray replied. "Come on, let's go get something to eat, and I want you to meet Kim."

"But..." Dean tried again.

"It's okay," Gray said again. With that, he walked out the door.

Unconsciously, Dean's hand reached up and gripped the amulet that lay against his chest.

--

From the tension in the kitchen, it was easy to tell that Kim had informed Sam of Zack's condition. The only one who didn't notice was Zack. He chatted happily all through dinner about his friends, and his upcoming 'birfday'. He made sure to ask Sam for a present as well, earning a light scolding from his parents. Gray told Sam and Dean that they had to come to the party, and said that he would make sure that they were both off that day.

They kept things light over dinner. Sam told a few stories about being in college and Dean told a story about a waitress in Tampa that had them in stitches. He had cleaned it up, a lot though, because of Zack.

The levity was interrupted when Zack had a coughing fit that left him trying to catch his breath. The brothers watched as Kim held Zack in her arms and lightly tapped his back, trying to break up congestion in his lungs.

Sam didn't miss the fact that for the entire time Zack coughed, Dean's hand was tightly gripping his amulet.

After dinner, Kim took Zack for his therapy. Exactly what that was, Dean and Sam weren't sure, and they weren't all that sure they wanted to know. Gray invited them out to the back porch.

Dean watched enviously as Gray and Sam had a beer, and he made do with a Diet Pepsi. Alcohol could affect diabetes, and Dean had to keep up appearances.

"How are you doing with your diabetes?" Gray asked.

"It's stable at the moment. No real complications," Dean said truthfully.

"Do you find the pump easier then the injections?"

"It's nice not to need so many needles," Dean hedged. He really hoped Gray didn't ask too many more questions, and decided to quickly move the topic away from himself. "So what happened to everyone at school?"

"Still like changing the subject I see," Gray said with a grin. "Same old Dean. Anyway, I went to boarding school during my final year."

"How come? Same one as Ben?" Dean asked. Ben had made his life a living hell, along with his friends Cody and Jamie.

"No. I got a scholarship. It was a school that had a good reputation for its graduates getting accepted at Ivy leagues. I know Westcott was too, but I just felt it was time to get out on my own."

"What about Kelsey?" Dean asked. "Did you hear about, um..." Dean trailed off. Kelsey had been the first girl that he'd dated steadily. She'd gotten drunk at a party and had slept with Ben, resulting in her getting pregnant. When Ben's father had found out, he'd shipped him off to boarding school.

"According to my dad, she had a girl. She gave the baby up for adoption. Ben went to college, but I'm not sure what happened to him after that. The Atwoods moved away in the middle of the next year when Kelsey started to show. Too afraid of the scandal, I guess."

Ben's younger brother had been a good friend of Sam's, and Sam had lost it on his dad and brother when he'd found out that they were moving and he would have to leave him friends. How he had treated his brother was always something he had regretted. His father though, now that was a different story all together.

"George opened his own garage in town," Gray said naming Dean's partner and friend from his auto shop class. They hadn't been as close as he and Gray were, but they had got along well. George had been as much into cars, if not more so, than Dean was.

"Jamie got a basketball scholarship," Gray continued. "Cody joined the marines."

"What about your brother and sister?" Sam asked. "What are they up to?" He wanted to keep Gray talking.

"Your turn," Gray said shaking his head. "Where did you guys disappear to? When my letter came back, I checked with Bobby, and even he didn't know." Gray said.

An idea suddenly popped into Dean's head. "Witness protection," he blurted out, and shot Sam a look to shut up.

Gray stared at them in disbelief as Dean continued. "Dad was working late one night, and on the way home, he saw someone get shot. He tried to help, but he was too late. He almost... got killed… got killed himself," Dean said with a shudder. "He identified the guy, and it turned out that he was a hired killer. We had to go into hiding, cut off all contact from everyone we knew. It killed us that we couldn't contact Bobby. The guy was put away, but we still had to be careful, and limit contact with people we knew because we could be putting them in danger. It's why we use a different name now. Gray, you have to promise not to tell anybody," Dean said seriously.

--

Gray pondered what he had just been told. It sounded plausible, but once again, his gut was telling him that they were still lying. It made sense, but there still seemed to be something missing. Still, he really didn't want to accuse them of lying again, and the story did explain why they had virtually disappeared off the face of the earth and the lack of contact. He decided to just leave it be for now. The connection he'd had with Dean had seemed to renew itself instantaneously, and he didn't want to risk it.

Before anyone could say anything else, Kim returned with Zack. They didn't want to discuss anything heavy, so Kim told the story of how she and Gray had met, and Gray recalled Zack's birth.

It was easy to see the pride and love they both had for their son, and the despair they felt when they had learned about his illness.

Then Gray got to embarrass Dean when he said how much his boss loved Dean's idea's of renaming the cabins, and that he was going to start it as a tradition that the campers got to pick their cabin's name.

When they were done, Zack was sound asleep, so Sam and Dean decided to call it a night. They promised Gray that they would stop by again soon, and then headed toward their car.

"Hey Sam, I want you to drive," Dean said tossing his brother the keys.

Sam looked at Dean like he was crazy.

"I'm fine. I promise," Dean insisted. "There's just something I want to check on the laptop."

"Hey Dean, that was quick thinking, about witness protection," Sam complimented.

"Thanks," Dean vaguely.

"Think Gray bought it?"

"It may have created some reasonable doubt, but if Gray really thinks about it, probably not," Dean said after a moments thought. "But it brought us time."

"What are you looking up?"

"Something for the case," Dean said dismissively.

Sam kept stealing glances at his brother all the way back to the camp. He was worried about him. He had been quieter than usual after they had found out about Zack. He wasn't surprised when he looked over Dean's shoulder as they pulled into the parking lot at the camp, and saw a medical website with information about CF on the computer screen.

"It's a lot more complicated than what Gray was saying," Dean replied when he felt Sam looking over his shoulder. He didn't even bother to try and justify his lie. He had known Sam saw through it. "It doesn't just attack the lungs. The liver, kidneys, and pancreas are all susceptible. Most victims die of multiple organ failure by the time they're 30, Sam. 30! It's not fair," Dean said. He was visibly upset. "Why? Gray's a good guy. He doesn't deserve this. Zack doesn't deserve it."

"Dean, you of all people know life's not fair," Sam said and looked toward his brother. Once again, Sam saw Dean's hand around his amulet and he knew what his brother was thinking.

"You're thinking of telling Gray the truth, aren't you?" Sam questioned. "Dean!" he added when Dean didn't answer.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"You've already made up your mind, haven't you? You're going to give Gray the amulet for Zack."

TBC

Please read and review. It keeps the muse happy.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Many thanks, as always to Soar for the beta. Any left over mistakes are completely mine. Thanks, also, to JuliaAurelia and Sinead-Conlan for their feedback and suggestions as to how to improve the chapter.

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

"You've already made up your mind, haven't you. You're going to give Gray the amulet for Zack," Sam stated to his brother. He wasn't surprised when Dean ignored him and started walking away. "Dean," he called after his brother and went to catch up with him.

"Back off, Sam," Dean said firmly.

"Talk to me, man," Sam said reaching up and putting his hand on Dean's shoulder. He wasn't surprised when his brother shrugged it off.

"It's my decision," Dean said calmly, but Sam could hear the raw emotion underlying Dean's words. He'd never let a child suffer.

"You know what taking that amulet off means," Sam reminded Dean.

"I'm not an idiot, you know!" Dean snapped.

"I never said you were," Sam protested. What was up with Dean? His brother's face after Sam had made fun of his EMF flashed into Sam's and he cursed himself. "What are you going to tell Gray?" he said, trying to get off the subject.

"The truth." Dean reached up and fingered his amulet. "I don't know if he'll believe it, but I have to try. I can live with diabetes, it's not fatal."

"What about insulin? How are you going to get it? You know how dad struggled to pay for it?" Sam immediately cursed himself again after the words left his lips. Why did he always seem to always put his foot in his mouth? He knew how guilty Dean felt about the cost of his illness. Sam watched as Dean's mask slipped, only for a few seconds, but Sam could see that Dean still blamed himself for getting diabetes in the first place.

"It doesn't matter. I'll find a way. The only reason I didn't put it over the kid's head tonight is that Gray and Kim need to know everything," Dean admitted.

"But what about your arm?" Sam said pointing to Dean's shoulder, where he had been shot when two men tried to rob the hardware store he had been working in.

Unconsciously, Dean's hand reached up and he slowly caressed the wound left behind by the bullet.

Dean shuddered when he thought about that time. It had been even worse than having diabetes. The bullet had hit a nerve bundle in his arm, effectively paralyzing it. It had been a really tough time for the young hunter, and it had been what had caused him to put the amulet on in the first place. He'd been devastated when it hadn't worked. He was still a little embarrassed at the memory of crying himself to sleep in his father's arms, when he realized his arm was still paralyzed.

About a month later, his arm gradually started to regain feeling. Dean hadn't known at the time if it had been the amulet, or if it had healed on its own. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wanted to find out.

"It'll be fine," Dean reassured his brother.

"We don't know th..."

"We do," Dean said quietly.

"How?" Sam inquired. "Did you take the amulet off?"

"No," Dean said slightly insulted that Sam would think he would do something like that.

"Talk to someone about it? Bobby?" Sam suggested.

"No," Dean said, trying not to sound hurt. Did Sam really think he was that helpless? He _**could **_figure out things on his own.

"Then you don't know. It's just a guess or wi..."

"It's not a guess. I had to know," Dean said seriously. "I did some research on the thing, okay. I wanted to know and I found that for anything natural, it goes away immediately. Any injury that would have healed, does, but just quicker. So my arm would have healed eventually. Although, if I ever got shot in heart, it wouldn't do squat. I'd be dead. Didn't you ever wonder how I could down a bottle of Jack and be sober enough to drive?"

"You actually did research? I'm impressed." Sam had been joking, but unfortunately, Dean didn't take it that way.

"I am capable you know," Dean snapped, not bothering to try and hide the fact that he was insulted anymore.

I didn't mean..." Sam started, only to be cut off once more.

"Forget it. It's not important," Dean deflected.

"No, you brought this up, Dean. You can't just tell me to forget it," Sam said, not letting Dean off the hook. He knew he had let Dean bury his feelings about things too many times in the past.

Dean cursed himself for getting into this. He should have denied that he was planning to give Gray the amulet in the first place. Not that Sam would have believed it.

"Dean," Sam prompted when Dean didn't answer. "Look, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just surprised, that's all. You're not usually one to do research on your own. I know you can do it, you just don't like to."

"I had to know," Dean said again. "It wasn't easy, but I managed to find some literature."

"In one of Bobby's books?"

Dean looked decidedly uncomfortable. "No," he mumbled.

"Dude, did something happen between you guys?"

"No," Dean quickly, not looking at Sam. "It was... never mind," Dean said looking at his shoes, thinking about where he had found the information. _University of Ohio, Cassie. Stop it, Dean. You do not need to bring that up again._

If Sam didn't know better, he'd have thought Dean was blushing.

"So if I take it off, I just have to deal with the diabetes," Dean said.

"That's not easy. What about insulin injections and all that?" Sam asked reasonably.

"I'll use this," Dean said pointing to the pump on his belt.

"Taking the wrong dose is dangerous. You know that," Sam pointed out.

"I'll ask Gray for help," Dean said stubbornly.

"No you won't," Sam mumbled under his breath.

"Zack's a good kid, Sammy. He doesn't deserve to suffer. My mind's made up and you can't change it," Dean stated firmly. "I'm not discussing this anymore. Now, I have to get back to my cabin. I'll see you later." Dean quickly walked off to forestall any further arguments.

"You don't deserve to suffer either, Dean. You're a good guy, too. I just wished you could see it," Sam said softly to his brother's retreating back.

--

Sam turned in the opposite direction of Dean and walked back to his cabin, his mind going a mile a minute. He knew there would be no changing Dean's mind, so he made a silent vow to help his brother re-adjust to being diabetic. No matter what Dean said, it wasn't going to be easy.

Sam let himself into his cabin. Austin and Nick were in the corner whispering about something. Sam was convinced he didn't want to know what it was. He had a feeling it involved him and that it couldn't be good. Nathan, Travis and Ryan were sitting on Travis's bed, looking through something and trying to hide whatever they were looking at. Sam hid a smile as he knew exactly what it was. Dean had several similar magazines when he was that age. Sam smiled to himself as he remembered John's reaction to finding them. Dean had done a lot of extra chores that month.

He looked around to find Kevin, and found him slumped out on his bed, not talking to anybody, as was his usual position. Jeff was over talking to him, trying to get him to participate in something. For the last two days, the boy had refused to take part in any activity they did, and refused to take his injections. The only reason he was getting his insulin shots was because the camp nurse gave them to him, but not without a lot of fuss on Kevin's part.

Sam was tired and he just wanted to lie down, but he had a job to do. He didn't know why, but he was suddenly wishing that he'd listened to Dean and avoided this job.

--

The following day, the Winchester brothers were reminded of why they were there. One of the female counsellors had gone to the boat house to get the some life jackets for her campers. While she was there, one of the bolts holding a canoe to the wall had suddenly come loose. She had managed to jump out of the way, but she still ended up with a sprained wrist, and was badly shaken.

The story had spread all over camp quickly. The biggest problem that they were finding with this hunt, was that they both had responsibilities to deal with before the hunt. They couldn't leave their cabins and their time off was rarely scheduled together. They tried to research on their own, but were frustrated at every turn.

No one wanted to talk about the incidents, and Sam and Dean didn't want to push too hard and draw too much attention on themselves, and being in a secluded spot with not a lot of resources, and a lot of people around, was not going to make it any easier.

There was no library in which to do research. Their cell phones rarely got a signal. Sam's laptop wouldn't connect to the internet. The only places with computers were the admin cabin and the medical cabin. The medical cabin was staffed 24-7, so they couldn't sneak in there. Sam had tried to get into the admin cabins, but there was always people around and he'd almost been caught.

Dean had tried to use his homemade EMF meter in the boat house, but it was never empty, and the only thing he learned was that he was getting old when a camper asked what a walkman was.

In one of the few times that Sam got to talk to Dean, he suggested calling Bobby to get him to do some research for them. It confirmed Sam's suspicions that something had happened because Dean wouldn't even consider it, saying that he was sure Bobby was busy with other things, which to Sam was complete bullcrap, because Sam knew that no matter how busy Bobby was, or what he was doing, he'd drop it in a heartbeat if he thought Dean needed him.

It had been Bobby that had gotten Dean his amulet, at great personal risk to himself. He'd even been injured in the process, taking 2 days to regain consciousness. He decided that the next free time he got, he was calling Bobby. He wanted to know what had happened, and they did need his help. They had to find out what was going on before someone else got hurt.

--

They felt fortunate that the spirit seemed to be at rest for the next couple of days. Sam and Dean spent the time looking after their cabins. Sam was still having problems and if it wasn't for Jeff, he felt the boys would be running all over him. He'd also tried to talk to Kevin a couple of times, but Kevin let him know exactly what he could do with his suggestions.

Sam had to admit that he felt a little jealousy towards his brother. Anytime Sam saw him, his cabin was following his every move. One day, he saw one of Dean's campers hanging back, but then Dean spoke to him and the next thing Sam knew, the kid was taking part in the game along with this bunkmates. He reminded himself that once again, he needed to get Dean to talk to Kevin.

--

Dean awoke early on the day of Gray and Zack's birthday. It was beautiful and sunny, the perfect day for a party. Yet, Dean's mood was anything but. He was looking forward to spending the day with Gray and his family, but he was worried about what he was going to say to Gray. Would he believe him, or would it turn out like it had with Cassie?

Dean was just really hoping that he didn't screw up. He didn't want Zack to suffer one minute longer than he had to. The trouble was that he had no idea how to get Gray to believe him.

He was also looking forward to spending more than five minutes with Sam, as he didn't see a lot of him at the camp.

The day before, Dean had driven 30 miles to the nearest town to go shopping for the two birthday boys. Sam hadn't had a chance to get to the store, so he had given his money to Dean to pick up a teddy bear for Zack, and a book store gift certificate for Gray. Sam had used his day off to visit the local library, but he had been ultimately frustrated. He hadn't found much information on the camp.

As Dean walked up and down the aisle at the toy store, looking for something for Zack, he began to wonder if there was a hunt here at all, or if it was just a streak of bad luck. He wished he had time to get to the library before heading back, but he had a hard time deciding what to get Gray. What did you buy for the man that had everything? He fingered his amulet once more. The gift at the party was just a token, his real gift would wait until everyone had gone. Dean could give Gray the one thing he wanted, and the one thing he couldn't buy, his son's health, and he intended to do just that.

He finally chose a race car set for the little boy. For Gray, he decided to get him an AC/DC T-Shirt. Everybody liked AC/DC and if they didn't, they didn't know what they were missing.

Sam and Dean spent the mornings with their respective cabins and met later to drive to Gray's cabin. Zack's birthday party was scheduled for the afternoon, and there was a dinner party for Gray and his friends later that evening.

Which was something else Dean was nervous about. Gray's friends were probably all doctors or lawyers, or people with high paying jobs. He hadn't even gone to college. He just hoped he managed to get through the day without embarrassing himself.

--

"Hey Dean," Sam greeted his brother with a wave.

"Hey Sammy. Ready to spend the afternoon with the rug-rats?"

"Anything that gets me away from here," Sam mumbled.

"Why's that? Did something happen?" Dean asked with a touch of worry in his tone. "Is it the ghost?"

"No," Sam said, his cheeks turning a light red. He just wished that he hadn't said anything. If Dean found out, Sam was never going to hear the end of it.

"Sammy," Dean said in a teasing tone, causing Sam to blush harder.

"It's just..." He stopped. "Never mind. We don't want to be late."

Dean stood beside the Impala with his arms crossed. "No way, little bro," he said firmly. "You don't get to make a statement like that and then clam up. Now spill. Is it your campers?"

Sam's silence confirmed Dean's suspicions. "What did they do?"

"Nothing," Sam mumbled.

"Come on, Sammy. I'll go ask them," Dean threatened and started to walk away from the Impala, back to the camp.

"Dean, wait," Sam called after his brother. "I'll explain later. Can we stop at K-mart on the way to Gray's or something?" With that, Sam got in the car.

Dean got into the driver's side, started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "Dude, we're in the middle of freaking nowhere. K-mart is 30 miles in the other direction. We're lucky we've got that little convenience store. Why, what do you need, Rainman?"

"Nothing," Sam mumbled. There was no way he was telling the truth.

"Let me guess, you're not wearing any underwear and that's why you need to go to K-mart," Dean snarked. Rainman was one of his favourite movies. Sam looked away embarrassed. "You're really not?" Dean said in disbelief. "Dude, why the hell not, and if you tell me the ones you have are not from K-mart, I'm going to kick your ass."

"No," Sam said playing with his hands. "It's just because…"

"Because why?" Dean prompted. "Confess, little bro. Come on, Sammy, give it up."

"They superglued all my underwear together," Sam finally blurted out.

Dean laughed so hard he almost pulled the Impala into the ditch.

"Concentrate, would you," Sam admonished.

"That's so classic," Dean said still trying to get himself under control. "I wish I had thought of it. Still sure you picked the easier cabin?"

"Shut up, Dean."

--

Dean called Gray and told him that they would be about a half hour late. Of course, much to Sam's humiliation, he shared the reason why. Sam could hear Gray's laughter from the passenger seat. He made a silent vow of revenge. He had plenty of stories he could tell about his brother. Still, he had to admit, it was good to see his brother laugh, even if it was at his expense.

"Hey Dean," Sam said to his brother just before they pulled into Gray's cabin. "About the amulet..." Sam trailed off as he saw Dean visibly tense beside him, and he hated himself for ruining Dean's good mood.

"Forget it, Sam," Dean replied as all traces of humor left him. "I told you, you can't change my mind."

"I know that, and that wasn't what I was going to say. All I wanted to say was that Gray's lucky to have you for a best friend, that's all."

"It's something anyone would do, Sam," Dean said a little uncomfortable at the praise, and he got out of the car before Sam could say another word.

"No, a lot of people wouldn't," Sam mumbled to Dean's empty seat.

--

They pulled into the driveway of Gray's cabin. The porch was decorated with ballons, and a big banner that read "Happy Birthday Zack."

Dean couldn't help but feel a little melancholy. He remembered his fourth birthday. His mom had had ballons and banners for him too.

"Hey Dean," Sam said, a little worried about the look that had just come over his brother's face. "You okay?"

"Fine," Dean said shaking himself out of his memories. He really didn't need to go down that memory lane. "Come on." He walked up the steps, knocked and entered when he heard a voice call "come in."

Sam and Dean entered the house and were immediately hit with the sound of a children's singer, singing about elephants coming out to play. Dean really wished he had ear plugs. He never could stand children's singers.

There were kids everywhere, running and playing. Sam was starting to feel a little melancholy, himself. The only time Sam had gotten to really celebrate his birthday was when he had turned thirteen. He'd had a real party for the first time in his life.

Sam watched as Dean greeted the birthday boy. He knew his brother had always tried on his birthday. There was always a cupcake and a small gift for him from his brother. Most of times, his father forgot. Sam shook himself away from that particular train of thought.

"Hi Dean, Sammy," Zack called to the brothers, returning Dean's high five. He had a big smile on his face. "I'm this..." _cough! cough! _"This many?" he said holding up five fingers.

"You're almost as old as Sammy," Dean told the little boy.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yup, and pretty soon, you'll be taller than my brother," Sam retaliated and tried not to laugh when Dean pouted.

"I'm gonna be big and strong," Zack said excitedly, though his words were belied when he coughed hard several times. "Are they for me?" Zack asked pointing to the bags the brothers were holding.

"Zackary, what did I tell you about asking for things?" Gray's voice admonished his son lightly. "Hey guys," he greeted the brothers.

"Sorry daddy," Zack said. "But it's my birf... I mean birthday. Did I say it right?"

"Sure did, kiddo, and I bet some of those presents are yours."

"That's right, Zack," Sam confirmed.

"And what do you say, son?" Gray prompted.

"Can I open them now?"

--

The afternoon was filled with games and food. Dean did his best to avoid the sweets, keeping up appearances. The highlight was watching Zack open his presents. He loved every one of them, especially Dean's race car set. It had been a hit with all the kids, and when Kim and Gray invited the brothers into the kitchen, the kids all insisted that Dean stay and help them set it up.

Sam watched his brother with an amused smile on his face. He couldn't remember a time when he'd seen Dean look so relaxed. His brother would have made such an awesome father.

"Beer, Sam?" Gray asked.

"Sure," he replied and accepted the cold bottle Gray handed him. "How're things?" he asked.

"Fine," Gray said. "Just a little worried about that accident we had. I mean, how many more before someone starts to think they're not accidents?"

Sam felt a little guilty about that one, because he and Dean hadn't done much about the hunt, even though they were trying.

"Honey," Kim said gently. "It's your birthday and Zack's, so let's just enjoy the day, okay. It's one of Zack's better ones."

"I know," Gray replied with a smile toward his wife. "Hey Kimmy, did you get me anything?" he said imitating their son.

"Maybe," she said slyly. "Remember what you told me when Zack was born?"

"That you gave me the best birthday present ever, and you never had to get me another one."

"That's right, buster. I was in labour for 13 hours."

"I love you," he said and batted his eyelashes at her.

Kim laughed. "Yeah, I know and I did get you something."

"You're too good to me, you know that."

"Don't you ever forget it. Now..." she stopped abruptly. She had looked at Sam and saw his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Are you alright?" she asked gently.

"Fine," Sam gulped. Gray and Kim had just reminded him of Jessica. "It's just… nothing. Is Zack joining us for dinner tonight?" Sam inquired, changing the subject.

"No," Gray said letting him. _What was one more Winchester secret. _"No hot dogs tonight," he said with a smile. "My dad's picking him up. He's in town for a meeting."

"How are things with your father?" Sam asked tentatively. He knew that Gray and his dad had never gotten along. His father had wanted Gray to go into business and work in their family's finance company.

"He was really mad when I told him about not going into business. I didn't speak to him the entire time I was in college."

"How did you guys make up?" Sam probed. It may have been a bit of a nosy question, but he wanted to know.

"Zack," Gray admitted. "My sister, Arabella, got married out of high school to a man just like herself. She had three girls. Thayer and his wife have two girls. Dad was so happy he had a grandson. He came immediately to see Zack and adored him right from the start. To my surprise, he even approved of Kim," Gray explained. That had really surprised the young physician. "I have to admit that when we got the news that Zack was sick, I thought my dad wasn't going to have anything more to do with him, but he just surprised me again. He dotes on all six of his grandkids, way more than he ever did with us. Zack just adores him. We started to patch things up, slowly. I know he's trying."

"I can see why. Zack's a great kid," Sam confirmed.

"Thank you," Kim said proudly. "Although, I'm afraid we spoil him, but we're trying to get him out of asking for stuff."

"I think all kids go through it," Sam replied. "I did."

"So did my brother," Kim said a little sadly.

"Is everything okay?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," she said accepting the tissue Gray handed her. "Sorry, it's just that Zack was kil... killed in Kuwait and it's still hard."

"It's okay," Sam said in what he hoped it was a comforting tone, and hoped he didn't sound too awkward. "I'm sorry. I'm guessing that's who your son was named after?"

Kim smiled. "Yeah, it was Gray's idea actually. I suggested his brother for our boy's middle name."

Sam looked toward Gray. "How come you didn't?" he wanted to know, and he didn't care how nosy the question sounded now.

"I did," Gray said firmly. "Dean was so much more of a brother to me than Thayer ever was."

Sam was glad that Dean hadn't been here to hear that. It was an honor, but Dean would have protested, saying he didn't deserve it.

Unbeknownst to the three of them in the kitchen, Dean was just outside the door and he had heard this. He felt his own eyes mist over, and he once again touched the amulet around his neck, and it just reinforced his decision that he was doing the right thing.

--

After the kids had all gone home, Dean and Sam helped with the clean up. Zack fell asleep with the teddy bear that Sam had given him. He had loved it and dubbed it Sammy Bear, and Sam knew that he was in for a life time of teasing over that.

Dean was nervous the rest of the afternoon about meeting Gray's friends. It was a bit of a distraction when Gray's father showed up to pick up Zack. It was the first time the Winchesters had ever met the man, and Sam found that he reminded him a lot of his own father. It made Sam miss him. He really wanted to speak to the man. _Then in five minutes, we can be at each others throats again, he thought wryly. _

_**BING BONG**_

Dean jumped at the sound of the doorbell.

"Hey Dean, relax a bit would you. You look like you're about to jump out of your skin," Gray addressed his friend. "Don't worry about it, okay?" Gray knew his friend well enough to know why Dean was nervous.

"I just don't want to embarrass you," Dean blurted out.

"How could you?" Gray asked in a confused tone. "If you tell me it's because you didn't go to college, I'm going to smack you upside the head."

"I…" Dean trailed off.

Gray made good on his threat as he walked past Dean to go answer the door.

Dean just smiled. Gray knew him too well.

--

Dean took his place at the dinner table. His worst fears were coming true. There were 6 other guests besides him and Sam. Gray and Patrick were both doctors. Kim and her friend, Wilma, were both veterinarians. Tom was a lawyer, Adam was an engineer, Mark was a college philosophy professor, and his wife Beth, taught high school English.

To their credit, the Remington's guests never once ignored Sam or Dean, and tried to draw them into the conversation. Dean deflected any conversation directed at himself toward his little brother, and watched as Sam engaged in a friendly debate about some court case Sam had studied in a pre law class, and debated over someone named Nietzsche. Gray watched as Dean became more and more uncomfortable. He knew his friend was about 5 minutes away from making some excuse as to why he had to leave.

"Hey Tom," Gray said to his friend. "What do you think of Dean's Impala?" Gray had invited him because the guy was more into cars than Dean was, if such a thing was impossible.

"She's beautiful. What are her specs?"

Dean looked at Gray gratefully. "327, 4 barrel carb, 257 horsepower."

Tom whistled appreciatively. "You're going to have to show her to me after we're done eating."

"Sure," Dean replied. "Is that your Camero in the driveway?"

"Yup."

The car talk continued until Beth started talking about the book, Catcher in the Rye, that her students were currently reading. Sam watched in amazement as Dean was able to discuss the book along with the rest of the group. He didn't think his brother would ever stop surprising him. Sam was so going to tease him the next time Dean called him a geek.

Dean had actually read it when he and his father were in Ohio working a job. He had met Cassie in the library when he'd been researching the hunt, and had come across information on his amulet. He had seen her reading it, and he had read it himself, hoping to impress her.

After dinner, they gave Gray his gifts and he loved them all, especially the T-shirt Dean had given him, claiming AC/DC was his favourite band. Dean had a feeling his friend was just humouring him.

When Gray's other guests had finally departed, Dean gave Sam the keys to the Impala and told him to pick him up in about an hour. Sam wanted to stay to support his brother, but Dean insisted that this was something he had to do alone. Kim also left to pick up Zack from his grandfather's hotel. Her father-in-law would have driven him home, but Kim knew that Gray would probably like some time alone with Dean to catch up.

--

"Why so serious?" Gray asked his friend as he came out to the back porch where Dean was waiting for him.

"There's something I need to tell you," Dean said twirling his amulet around in his hand.

"Should I be scared?" Gray asked in a mocking tone. He actually did look a little worried when Dean didn't answer. "Dean, what's up? Is it your diabetes? Don't think I didn't notice you helping yourself to Zack's birthday cake," he teased trying to lighten Dean's mood.

"My diabetes, no, not really. Sort of, yes actually," he replied leaving Gray more confused than ever.

"Dean, you're starting to scare me here, buddy," Gray replied, his tone turning serious.

Dean stiffened. "Please don't call me that," he requested softly. He only liked one person calling him that.

"Sorry Dean. I didn't mean anything by it." He remembered that was Dean's father's nickname for him, and Dean didn't like anyone else using it.

"Don't worry. Um, I'm not really sure where to start this," Dean said hesitantly.

"How about the beginning," Gray said. He was getting really curious.

"Remember my 17th birthday?" Dean asked and continued when Gray nodded. "Remember everyone gave me additional presents afterwards? Well, I um, I have one for you," Dean said and handed Gray the amulet.

"Thanks," Gray said and accepted it. He wondered what it was. The little horned figure was kind of ugly, not that Gray would say that. He didn't want to hurt Dean's feelings.

"It's for Zack, too," Dean confirmed.

"Okay. No offence, I appreciate the gift and all, but what is it?" Gray asked.

"None taken," Dean replied. "I just... I felt you needed it more than I did. Bobby actually gave it to me."

"And now you're giving it to me?" Gray asked in a confused tone.

"I have to tell you something."

"You said that. What is it?" Gray asked. "Dean," he prompted when his friend sat a full 5 minutes without speaking.

"I don't know how to say this. Just give me a minute, okay?"

"Sure, take your time."

Dean gathered his thoughts and finally spoke. "No matter how I put this, it's going to sound nuts. Just make me one promise, Gray. Listen to what I say. Let me finish before you interrupt."

Now the young doctor was really curious. "I promise."

"Me and Sam, well we kind of have a special job. We like to help people. That's why we came to the camp. The story about the typos and the witness protection were bogus, as I'm sure you already guessed. We had no idea you'd be at the camp. Sam came across the article and we decided it might be our kind of gig."

"What kind of job? What are you talking about?"

"You promised not to interrupt," Dean reminded his friend. "This is hard enough."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Gray said.

"Anyway, we wanted to look into the accidents."

"You think someone is causing them?" Gray asked in disbelief. "Who'd want to hurt the kids?"

"We don't think someone is causing them, but something."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think your camp has a disgruntled spirit attached to it. That's what me and Sam do. We're hunters. We hunt supernatural creatures. Demons, spirits, poltergeists, they're all real."

"You're kidding, right? You had me going there for a second. If you don't want to tell me about the fake names, fine, just don't make up this BS to insult my intelligence. At least the witness protection story sounded plausible." Gray looked into Dean's eyes. He was surprised at how hurt his friend looked right then.

"I don't expect you to believe me. I don't care if you do or not, and I really don't care if you fire me, but please just listen for one more minute. It's important, Gray."

"Fine," Gray said with a touch of anger. "Continue."

"Along with supernatural creatures, there are supernatural amulets and charms that have special powers. That's one of them," Dean said indicating the amulet Gray was still holding. He didn't fail to notice that Gray put it down on the porch railing in front of him quickly.

"It's called the Amulet of Harmonia. She was the Greek goddess of harmony, and that amulet was made in the image of her husband Cadmus. It was said that she had it made after her husband died in battle. "

"What the hell does that have to do with me and Zack?" Gray asked, his anger growing.

"It's a very powerful object, Gray. Apparently, after her husband died, Harmonia became depressed, and that depression led to her getting sick."

"Can you spare me the history lesson and just get to the point," Gray said impatiently.

"When Harmonia put that amulet on, she felt close to her husband and harmony was restored, she recovered instantly from her illness. The thing is, Gray, that amulet works on whoever wears it. I haven't taken an insulin injection since I was 17."

"You expect me to believe that thing cured your diabetes?" Gray asked in disbelief.

"It doesn't cure, but it suppressed the symptoms." Dean lifted up his shirt and pulled the tape off his insulin pump. "See, it's not really attached to me and it's empty."

"Dean, I don't understand..."

"Gray, I want you to have the amulet. It works for any natural disease. If you put it around Zack's neck, he won't suffer from CF anymore," Dean blurted out. He wasn't sure how Gray would react, so he was surprised when he felt Gray's right hook connect with his cheek, and he found himself sprawled on the porch deck with the face of his former best friend glaring back at him.

--

Unknown location

Thomas Gates sat behind his desk in his rich, plush office. He had it all. CEO of a major company, homes all over the world, fancy car in the driveway and a yacht in the marina. He had climbed over several people and backstabbed several more to get where he was, and he really didn't care. He was at the top and that was all that mattered.

Recently, though, he hadn't been feeling well. Parkinson's the doctor had said. He couldn't be sick. He had obligations, 2 ex-wives, a current wife, and several mistress were all counting on him, not to mention all the people waiting to take his job. Thomas was not ready to give up his lifestyle.

He knew about a powerful occult object that would take care of all his problems. He used every contact he had to try and find the Amulet of Harmonia, and met with frustration at every turn. He was beginning to doubt the thing existed. Then a friend of a friend of a friend gave him a number to call, said this guy could find anything.

"Can you get it?" Thomas asked the man sitting in front of him. This man scared him and Thomas did not scare easily.

"Of course," the man said. "For the right price."

"I don't care what it costs. Just find it."

The man named his price and Thomas readily agreed. "How do I get in touch with you?" Thomas asked.

"You don't," Dante informed Thomas as he accepted the initial check. "I'll find you."

TBC

Please make my day and review.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for taking so long to update. I had a really nasty case of writers block on this chapter. So I need to say a huge thank you Sinead-Conlan and demonhunter for getting me over the hump.

Thanks also to Soar for the beta, any left over mistakes are completely mine, and thanks again to JuliaAurelia for her feedback and encouragment.

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

"Gray, I want you to have the amulet. It works for any natural disease. If you put it around Zack's neck, he won't suffer from CF anymore," Dean blurted out. He wasn't sure how Gray would react, so he was surprised when he felt Gray's right hook connect with his cheek, and he found himself sprawled on the porch deck with the face of his former best friend glaring back at him.

"How could you?" Gray asked angrily. As the parent of a sick child, nothing was worse than false hope. As a doctor, it was something he had vowed never to give to anyone else. Now here was his so called best friend doing just that. For the life of him, Gray couldn't figure out why Dean had made up such an elaborate story. "I get there are things you don't want to tell me about. Fine. I gave you a job despite the fact that you lied to me, and this is how you repay me?"

"Gray..." Dean started to say. He didn't get further than that.

"No, just no," Gray insisted. He really didn't want to hear anymore. "Just leave."

Dean pulled himself up off the deck. "Is that what you really want?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Gray said firmly.

Dean nodded his head silently. He should have known this would happen. Look at how Cassie had taken the news, he didn't know why he had expected Gray to react any differently. "Okay, Gray," Dean whispered sadly. "But I would never lie about this."

Dean turned dejectedly and strode away from his friend, looking back about halfway down the path, hoping Gray would reconsider and call him back, but the ferocious scowl on his face proved he had no such intentions.

Gray watched the man who had been like a brother to him walk off, feeling like his own heart had been ripped out. There was no way that what Dean was telling him could be true. He was going to go in the house, call Kim and ask her to bring Zack home. He needed to see his son. He turned toward the house and saw the amulet sitting on the railing where Dean had left it.

Hesitantly, Gray reached for it, as if he was afraid it would burn him if he touched it. He picked it up, expecting it to shock him or something. Of course, nothing happened except that when he turned around, he saw a very angry Sam Winchester barrelling toward him. That didn't surprise him. It was something Gray had learned early on. You messed with one Winchester brother, you messed with them both.

"What the hell did you say to him?" Sam demanded in a tone that said he wanted answers, and he wasn't going anywhere until he got them.

"I just..." Gray started to say, only to find himself cut off.

"You hit him," Sam said in disbelief. "He's out there telling me that he's a screw up. Why is that? I mean, come on, Gray."

"Listen, Sam," Gray interjected when Sam took a breath. "You honestly expect me to believe that crap he's peddling, that demons are real and an ugly piece of jewellery can cure diseases?"

"No," Sam snapped. "I don't expect you to believe that. It's hard to hear and damn near impossible to believe it."

"Then why?" Gray started to say in a confused tone. "Why are you yelling at me when you don't believe it yourself?"

"I never said I didn't believe it. What I said was that I don't expect you to believe the words. I expect you to believe the person saying them to you."

"Sam, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about."

"Remember that time when the hardware store Dean worked at got held up?" Sam reminded Gray.

Gray shuddered at the thought. "Of course I do," Gray yelled back. "How do you forget the fact that your best friend almost died? I don't think I've ever been that scared in my life. Why are you bringing that up?"

"I'm talking about the fact that this is the same guy that threw himself in front of a bullet for a complete stranger. Do you really think he would lie about being able to help a seriously ill child, especially your seriously ill child? Come on, Gray, you know deep in your heart that he's a good person. You always said Dean was like a brother to you, and brothers don't turn their backs on each other."

"But, Sam… magic?'

"Not magic. Just my stupid, stubborn big brother," Sam said affectionately. "You were the first real friend Dean ever had. You were the first person to really take the time to get to know him, to ignore that smartass, 'I don't need anyone' attitude. You saw something in Dean then, Gray. All I'm asking is that you remember what it was. Remember that, and I swear, you'll understand what he's trying to do here."

"Sam, look..." Gray said forcibly.

"No, you look," Sam yelled back. He had things to say and he wasn't going to be denied. "He's my brother, Gray..."

------

Dean was sitting in the Impala, waiting for his brother. Somehow, he wasn't surprised that Sam had ignored his orders to come back for him, and had remained sitting in the driveway. The kid had never been good at taking orders.

Sam had taken one look at the bruise forming on his cheek and demanded to know what had happened. He had tried to keep things vague, but Sam had read between the lines, ordered Dean to stay put, and stormed off to find Gray. Dean almost felt sorry for Gray. Sam could be downright scary when he was mad, he'd refereed enough fights between his dad and brother to know this.

A sad smile found its way to his lips, despite the situation. 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,' he thought.

Dean had just wished he'd listened to Sam about the amulet. He should never have thought he could make Gray understand. He couldn't make Sam understand, he'd grown up resenting his brother and his father for their lifestyle. He couldn't make Cassie understand, she had called him nuts and told him to get lost. Now he'd failed to make Gray understand, and in doing so, had completely lost the only friend he'd ever had.

_"0 for 3," he thought miserably. "Strike out." _

He should just start the engine and drive away. Everyone would be better off without him. Maybe this time, he'd leave them before they could leave him.

He didn't want to though. He desperately wanted to find a way to make Gray believe him, to trust him like he had done all those years ago. He suddenly found himself overwhelmed with memories. Unbeknownst to him, Gray was recalling the exact same time.

------

_**1995**_

"Dean, move it," he heard his father call impatiently from down the hall.

"I'm coming," Dean called back. He was in his room, looking for his school tie. He tended to rip his tie off and throw it somewhere when he got in. He'd had two, but both seemed to missing in action. He picked up his pillow and practically unmade his bed in an attempt to find one. He checked his top drawer. No tie.

"Jonathan Dean!" he heard his father call again. This wasn't good. If his full name came out, he could kiss his date goodbye this weekend.

"I said I'm coming," he shouted back. There wasn't one under his bed, or in his back pack. If Sam had hid them, he was seriously going to kill the little...

"Jonathan Dean Winchester, Jun..."

"I'm here," Dean said before his father could finish. He'd finally found a tie on top of the laundry basket. He was pretty sure it was Sam's though, because he didn't remember ever putting his in to be washed. His geek, little brother probably ironed his too.

"It's about time," John grumbled.

"Lose your tie again, Dean?" Sam asked with a grin.

"Shut up," Dean mumbled and smacked Sam on the back of the head as he walked by.

"Ow!" Sam protested. "Quit it, or I'm telling dad."

"Knock it off, both of you," John growled.

"But I didn't do anything," Sam defended himself.

"I don't care," John said putting his foot down. "And Dean, so help me, if you don't get that smirk off your face…" John added.

Dean hastily made his face blank, and he wondered just how his father could have seen that with his back to him.

"Sam, you too," John snapped when Sam's face took up its own smirk.

"In the car, both of you," John ordered.

Knowing it was best to comply, they obeyed without argument.

"Dean, it's my day to work late," John reminded his son. "Sam's going to the movies. Don't worry about picking him up though, Max's mother will drive him home. You'll have to drive yourself to your appointment though."

"Don't you want me to go with Sam and keep..."

"No..." Sam spoke up. "It's just the movies. I don't need my big brother there."

"Fine," Dean huffed, a little hurt at Sam's words. "I just had an appointment," he reminded his dad.

"It's just a check up, Dean," John said gently. He knew how his son felt about doctors. He had tried to reschedule so that Dean wouldn't have to go by himself, but they were booked solid. Dean had a deep fear of anything medical. John tried to respect that, especially since it was his fault in the first place.

"I feel fine," he informed his father.

"And I want to make sure things stay that way," John insisted. "They're not admitting you," John pointed out. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Easy for you to say," Dean mumbled under his breath.

"Why not ask Gray if he'll go with you," Sam suggested.

"No," Dean answered immediately.

"Why not?" John asked. It seemed like a good solution to the problem.

Dean just scowled. He liked Gray, but he still wasn't all that sure he trusted him completely. He had the plot of every awful teen movie running through his head, and he really didn't need to give Gray ammunition.

"Suit yourself," John added when he realized that Dean wasn't going to answer. "He doesn't have to know your af... nervous," he quickly corrected. "Just ask him to keep you company. It's usually a long wait."

"No," Dean said stubbornly.

John sighed knowing that he would never get Dean to change his mind. "It's up to you, but under no circumstances are you allowed to miss that appointment, or there'll be no dates for a month."

"Yes, sir," Dean said, giving the expected answer.

------

Dean pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. One good thing about his father working late was that he got to drive. He loved being behind the wheel of the Impala. He just wished it was any day but today.

He went to his locker to get his books for his first class and found Gray waiting for him as usual. He still had a hard time figuring out why Gray did that. Did he want something, or were they truly friends? He'd asked Bobby's advice, but the senior hunter had been no help. He had just told Dean to stop being an idjit.

"Hey, Dean," Gray greeted. "We have to finish our history project. It's due Friday."

"Okay," Dean agreed. "When do you want to get together?'

"How about today?"

"Can't," Dean said reluctantly. "I have a check up."

"Everything okay?" Gray asked in concern.

"Fine," Dean admitted. "It's just a waste of time."

"Diabetes can be..."

"I know," Dean snapped. "I get that lecture from my dad, my brother and my doctor, I really don't need to hear it from you."

"Sorry," Gray said sincerely.

Dean instantly felt bad. He knew Gray hadn't meant anything by it. "No, I'm sorry. It's just so boring. I get to hang around an office for five hours so the doc can test my blood sugar, something I can do all by myself in five minutes."

Gray chucked. "It can't be that bad."

"Okay, maybe it's not five hours, it's more like four hours and 59 minutes."

"You could always do your homework," Gray suggested.

"Homework?" Dean said in disbelief. "I can't concentrate on homework. What if I miss them calling my name? Then I'd have to wait another five hours."

"You know, I'm not busy after school. If you want some compan…"

"That sounds great," Dean agreed before Gray finished the last word. He couldn't help himself. _Bobby is right, you are a moron. Why not just wear a neon sign and advertise it to the whole school? _"Um, never mind," Dean stammered and took off before Gray could say another word.

-----

Gray was left standing in confusion as he watched his friend's retreating back. He had been sincere in his offer. He knew all about sitting in an office for hours, being bored to death. He'd done it often enough waiting for his father.

As much as he liked Dean, his new friend was still one big mystery to him. Like when he waited for him by the front door, or by their lockers, a look always flashed across Dean's face, like he couldn't believe that someone was actually waiting for him. It left Gray wondering why Dean had so little confidence in himself. He suspected that he'd never know the full story, so he didn't push.

Dean barely spoke to him in Latin and English. Gray told him that he'd save him a seat in the cafeteria, but Dean hadn't shown up. Gray wondered where he had gone. He really hoped that Dean hadn't done something stupid and skipped lunch, but Gray saw him in history later that afternoon and he seemed fine. When Gray asked where he'd been, he just said 'around'.

When the final bell rang, Gray didn't even bother to stop at his locker. He just made a beeline for the parking lot, so Dean couldn't get away without him. He wanted to know what was bugging his friend.

"I said you didn't have to come," Dean said by way of greeting.

"I said I would," Gray answered.

"I don't need someone holding my hand," Dean snapped.

"I never said you did. You said waiting is boring."

"You don't have to come," Dean offered again, half-heartedly. Deep down, he wanted Gray there, he would just never admit it.

"I don't mind," Gray said firmly. "Come on, we'll take the keys to your dad. I'll tell him that I'll give you a lift there and back."

"Okay," Dean said, hating the grateful tone his voice took. He couldn't let Gray find out he was afraid of going to the doctor. He was 16 for God's sake. "I'll follow you."

"No," Gray stated. "Your car will be fine here. We'll drop the keys off to your dad," he insisted. He knew that if given the chance, Dean was going to ditch him. "Tell you what, you can drive my car there."

Despite everything, Dean was intrigued. Gray drove a viper, and Dean really did want to try it out. "Thanks," he said genuinely and slipped behind the wheel.

Gray tried not to laugh. Dean looked like a kid at Christmas.

They drove through to the motor pool and Dean ran the keys into his father, telling his dad that Gray would give him a lift. John told his son that he was glad he had someone to go with him, so he didn't have to feel quite so guilty.

Dean was glad that his appointment passed without incident, and Gray dropped Dean off at his place.

"Want to stay for dinner?" Dean asked.

"Is that okay with your father?" Gray wondered. He would never be allowed to invite someone on the spur of the moment.

"Sure, he won't care."

"Thanks."

-----

"Hey son," John greeted them as they walked in. "How'd your check up go?"

"Fine. You can check with Dr. Conlan if you don't believe me," Dean challenged.

"Relax, son. I believe you. I need you to do me a favour, though."

"What?"

"Can you run and pick up Sammy. He's at Max's."

"I thought Max's mother was driving him home."

"She was, but her car won't start."

"No problem. You coming, Gray?"

"Actually, Gray, if you don't mind giving me a hand…?" John asked.

"Sure," Gray said. He appreciated being invited to dinner, but he wasn't sure how he felt about being alone with Dean's father. Gray found him sterner than his own father and he made him a little nervous. Sam and Dean were the only people he knew that called their father sir.

Dean shot him a look that Gray couldn't quite interpret as he left. Gray was grateful when John gave him some carrots to cut up.

"So, how did his check up really go?" John asked when they heard the car turn down the street.

"Fine," Gray confirmed.

"Were you in the office with him?"

"Yeah," Gray admitted. "He told me I had to. He said it would be a good education for me." Gray had admitted that he wanted to be a doctor. "Seriously, Mr. Winchester, his doctor said he was doing good."

"Thanks for going with him," John said sincerely.

"It was no big deal," Gray said with a shrug.

"Maybe not to you, but to him, it was a big deal."

"Mr. Winchester, can I ask you something?"

"Yes," John said, answering both Gray's spoken and unspoken question. "Dean's afraid of doctors. I'll let him share the reason for it, if he wants too."

"He could have just told me that," Gray said, trying not to sound too frustrated.

"He's not exactly the sharing and caring type. It can be frustrating sometimes, just..." John trailed off, trying to think of some way to phrase his words.

"Don't give up on him," Gray said as if he had read John's thoughts. "Don't worry, I won't," he said sincerely. "I'm as stubborn as he is."

-----

Gray waited for his friend in their usual spot the next day. Dean seemed nervous and jumpy that morning, again, barely saying a word to his friend. Gray had a feeling that Dean was worried that he'd revealed his secret, and he was a little hurt over the fact that Dean still wouldn't trust him.

He cornered the stubborn Winchester after school again. This time he drove them to a small, secluded lake. It was a place Gray liked to come to when he was having a bad day.

"Why are we here?" Dean asked.

"'Cause we need to talk," Gray said honestly. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I haven't," Dean insisted. "I've just been... busy."

"Yeah, avoiding me. You barely said hi in English, history, or Latin and you haven't been in the cafeteria for the last 2 days. I know you have to eat, so where are you going?"

"Nowhere. Why are you doing this?" Dean asked uncomfortably.

"Because I want to know why you don't trust me," Gray explained in a hurt tone. "You were afraid I would tell everyone at school about you being afraid of the doctor. Why would you think I would do that? I didn't tell anyone at school you had diabetes, did I?"

"Gray, I... I don't know." Dean was wracking his brain, he was at a loss for words.

"Okay, I get it," Gray said. He didn't really, but he could tell Dean was literally getting ready to bolt. An idea occurred to him. "Fair is fair."

"What's fair?" Dean asked curiously.

"I know your secret, so I'll tell you mine. I'm a big outcast in my family. My brother is my dad's favourite, my sister is my mother's. Just once, I would love to hear my dad tell me he's proud of me. How pathetic is that?" Gray said bitterly.

"It's not," Dean said softly. "I like hearing it too."

"But your dad has said it," Gray pointed out.

"Rarely," Dean admitted.

"I never told anyone that before. My dad's never said it once. I mean, I'm president of the Honors Society, captain of the academic elite team. I'm in the advanced math and science program at school, and I already have colleges contacting me about scholarships. My dad doesn't care about any of that though, because I can't throw a football through a tire. My brother, he barely graduated, Dad had to make a donation to get him accepted to college, yet at parties, Thayer is all my dad talks about. I bet his business associates don't even know he has two sons."

"I bet he's proud of you," Dean said trying to make his friend feel better. "I know that, because my dad's proud of Sammy. Sam's a lot like you. He prefers academics to athletics."

"But you're not on school teams."

"No, but..." Dean stopped. How could he explain about hunting? "I help dad a lot with Sammy. Dad tends to get after him for not being able to do some things I can, despite the fact that I'm four years older. Sam sometimes thinks that dad's picking on him. Let me tell you, some of the fights they get into... Anyway, dad's proud of Sammy. He just doesn't know how to express it sometimes. I bet your dad's the same way."

"Thanks," Gray said, wishing that were true, but he had his doubts.

"Thanks for tell me," Dean replied. He took a deep breath and made the decision to trust his friend. "I was four," he said.

"Huh?" Gray asked curiously.

"When it happened. It was just after mo... I was four, and I got a fever. Dad took me to the hospital and they kept me overnight. He had to get home to Sammy, and there was a snowstorm that night. It knocked out the power and the phones. It was almost three days before my dad could get back. Stupid, I know," Dean said with a small shrug of his shoulders.

Gray knew just how much that had cost Dean to admit. He could understand, especially if it had just happened after his mom had died. He understood why Dean had the fear he did. "It's not stupid."

Dean really needed to change the subject. "Now, we have to go shoot some pool, or drink a beer or something."

"Why?" Gray asked.

"Because we just had the mother of all chick flick moments."

Gray started laughing and couldn't stop.

------

_**Present**_

"Are you even listening to me?" Sam accused.

"What?" Gray asked, startled out of his memories. He had shared something with Dean that day that he hadn't told anyone before. He was so confused right now. He couldn't let himself believe what Dean was telling him, because if it didn't work, he wouldn't be able to live with it.

"Apologize..." he heard Sam say. He realized that he was drifting off again.

"I'm sorry," a voice called from the porch.

Both Gray and Sam turned to see Dean standing on the porch. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Gray. I never wanted that, I swear. I only wanted to help."

''Dean, you have nothing to apologize for," Sam replied and shot Gray another glare.

"Dean, I..." Gray started. He honestly had no idea what to say.

He didn't get a chance to say anything because he heard a car pull in the driveway, and he knew his wife was home.

The three men stood around awkwardly. No one really speaking.

"Gray," a panicked voice called from the front door.

That got all three men moving. Kim had Zack in her arms and they could hear him wheezing.

"What happened?" Gray asked nervously.

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "Your dad called me. He said that Zack was warm, but he wasn't sure if it was because it was hot outside. He said he was listless, but at first attributed it to him over exerting himself because of the party. He was okay when he lay down, earlier."

"Give him to me," Gray said collecting his son. "Did dad do his percussion?"

"Daddy," Zack said in a weak voice. "My che..." _**Cough! Cough! **_"Chest hurts."

"I know, Zacky. Daddy will give you a breathing treatment, okay."

"Don't want it," Zack complained.

"I know they're no fun, but it will help you breathe easier. Okay, baby?"

"'Kay, daddy," Zack said and rested his head on Gray's shoulder.

"Kim, he's burning up," Gray said and shot a worried glance at his wife.

"Should we take him to the hospital?" she asked worriedly.

"Let's try his nebulizer, then we'll see."

"I'm sorry," she said to Sam and Dean.

"Don't be," They both said in unison.

"Dean," Sam said turning to his brother. "The amulet."

"Not now, Sammy," Dean cautioned. He didn't want to get thrown out.

----

The Winchester brothers had never felt so helpless as they stood around for the next half hour. First, they watched as Gray gave Zack some medicine that he breathed through a mask, Kim explaining that it helped to break up the congestion in his chest. Then they gave him what Gray called percussion, during which they tapped Zack's chest gently, but firmly, with a cupped hand, in an effort to help him get rid of the thick secretions in his lungs.

"It's not working," Kim said frantically. "I'll get his coat."

"No hospital," Zack whined. He hated it there. They did things that hurt.

"It's okay Zacky, mommy and daddy will be there. Sam, Dean, I'm sorry but..."

Zack started coughing hard then. He was coughing so hard he couldn't get his breath.

There was nothing Dean hated more than seeing a child suffering. It was all he could do not to put the amulet over Zack's head himself. "Please, Gray," he begged, not caring how it sounded. "You trusted me back then, I'm asking you to trust me now. Just put it over his head. I wouldn't lie, not about as something as important as this."

Gray couldn't think anymore. He thought about how Dean had trusted him enough to open up all those years ago. It was time to return the favour, and he did trust Dean, with his life. He accepted the amulet and put it over Zack's neck.

Zack coughed several more times. "Daddy, I'm gonna throw up."

Kim held Zack's head over the sink and he coughed hard for a few minutes, spitting up all the junk that had been in his lungs. Within five minutes, he was breathing easier, and sound asleep with his head on Kim's shoulder. All trace of his wheeze was gone, and his temperature normal.

"What the hell's going on here?" Kim asked. "What the hell is this?" she demanded, reaching for the amulet around her son's neck.

"Don't," Sam and Dean cautioned in unison.

Gray looked back at the two brothers, and then over at his wife. "Talk… Now!" he demanded.

"Have a seat," Sam said. "It's gonna be a long story."

TBC

Please read and review. It makes my muse happy and I don't want her to leave me again.


	6. Chapter 6

I would like to give the usual thanks to Soar for the awesome beta job. Any left over mistakes are mine. I also need to thank JuliaAurelia and Sinead-Conlan for their feedback and encouragement.

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I still don't own.

Gray had always considered his life to be pretty normal. Okay, not an average life. Most people didn't live in a house the size of a train station, and attend a school with a yearly tuition fee that cost more money than most people made in a year. Still, it was pretty normal. He had a mother, father, brother, and sister. He went to college, got a job, fell in love, got married and had a son.

Now, as he sat on the couch and listened to his friends tell their story, he kept telling himself that he should be calling the cops, or the men in white coats. Demons were real, spirits and poltergeists could kill people. The boogeyman really came out of closets, and every creature of myth and legend was apparently alive, but not necessarily well, if you listened to the Winchesters.

Yet here he was, believing every word they were saying.

He wasn't surprised at how well the brothers seemed to trade off the parts of the story they were telling so effortlessly, taking the parts that the other didn't like to talk about. Gray could tell that no matter how much time had passed, Dean had never come to terms with his mother's death, so Sam told the story of what had happened on the night that had introduced them to the supernatural world.

Considering how mad Sam had gotten when the boys had moved at the end of that year, and it was still obvious that he resented their childhood, Dean told the story of how they were raised. He talked about everything, including the drills and weapons training. Gray felt Sam had a right to be a little bitter though, they had been raised like warriors.

He noticed the wary look in Dean's eyes as he started coming up on the time that Sam was about to graduate high school. As if on cue, Sam suddenly took over. He explained about getting accepted into college, and the fight that ended up with him getting kicked out of the house, and he and his brother not speaking for almost four years.

When Sam's voice started taking on a strained tone as he mentioned Jessica, Dean picked the story up. He skimmed over the details of their father being missing, and filled them in on Jessica's death.

Gray and Kim sat in stunned silence when they were done, neither really knowing what to say.

"Sam, Dean, um, I'm not sure what to believe," Kim admitted. "This all sounds so... so..."

"Nuts," Gray finished and couldn't figure out why Dean suddenly flinched.

"I get it," Dean replied. They still didn't believe him, even after seeing the amulet work. He stood. "Come on, Sam."

"Dean, knock it off," Gray said, easily reading his friend, even after all this time. "It's just hard to take in. I believe you," he said firmly and with conviction.

"You do?" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Yes, we do," Kim said getting up and walking over to him. She stood on tip toe and kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear. "Thank you for my son."

"Um, you're... you're welcome," Dean replied. They didn't have to thank him. Anybody would have done it. He looked down and saw that Kim's hand was still on his arm. It was almost as if she knew what he was thinking, and was trying to keep him from bolting, which is exactly what he wanted to do.

"I hate to break this up," Sam interrupted, knowing that Dean's emotions were about to get the better of him and wanting to change the subject. "There're other things you and Kim need to consider."

"What?" Gray asked suspiciously.

"Well, if you decide to keep the amulet..."

"If it helps Zack, I will be," Gray said firmly.

"Please Gray, let him finish," Dean said, knowing what Sam was trying to say.

"You'd better sit again," Sam replied and waited for Kim, Gray and Dean to take their seats again.

"You do realize how much this is going to change your lives?"

"Yes, Zack won't suffer anymore," Kim said gratefully. "He'll be able to play like he wants, and not have to have therapy 4 times a day."

"My boy's healthy," Gray added, just as gratefully. "That's the only thing that matters."

"What do you tell people when they wonder why Zack no longer has CF?" Sam asked. He hadn't meant to put it that bluntly, but the Remingtons needed to be shocked back to reality. They were only seeing one thing, not that Sam blamed them, he would have given anything to take the diabetes away from his brother.

"We'll tell them..." Gray trailed off. He hadn't thought about that.

"You're going to have to move," Dean cautioned. "Change jobs, go some place where no one knows you. You'll have to coach Zack to never tell people he has CF. The fewer people that know what the amulet does, the better."

"What do you mean by that?" Gray demanded.

"There are others that know what this amulet does and would love to get their hands on it, and not all of them are like Dean," Sam answered. "Some of them aren't so nice."

"Are you saying we could be in danger?" Kim asked nervously.

"Yes," Dean admitted honestly.

Kim was so torn right now. She didn't care about moving, she'd move to Antarctica for Zack. Accepting the amulet meant something akin to going into the witness relocation program though. Her eyes drifted down the hall to the door that her son was sleeping behind. Sleeping and breathing easily.

When she thought of that, there was nothing else to think about. She looked to her husband and met his eyes. Gray nodded. He was thinking the exact same thing as Kim. He would do anything.

"What do we have to do?' Gray asked.

"Keeping a low profile is one thing," Dean said. "Don't draw attention to yourselves. Me and Sam will stick around for a while, and make sure nothing happens. We can help you relocate and disappear if it comes to that."

"It's not going to be easy. You both need to realize that," Sam advised. "It may mean moving at a moment's notice. Leaving friends and family behind."

"Still, Zack would be healthy. That's really all that matters," Gray repeated.

"You need to remember the amulet doesn't make him bullet proof," Dean added. "He won't get a cold or the flu, but he can still fall or break a limb. Plus, he can't take it off. Ever!"

"What happens if he does?" Gray needed to know.

"It's not a re-set button," Sam said. "Whatever Zack's health was like when he put it on, will be what it was when he takes it off. His symptoms will start showing up within 48 hours. If he has it off for longer than 2 weeks, it won't work for him any more."

"Dean," Gray said when he realized what they were saying. "Your diabetes."

"It's fine," Dean said vaguely.

"It's not," Sam replied. "We're going to need your help on that one," Sam stated, ignoring Dean's glare.

"Anything," Gray promised. "When you start showing symptoms, Dean, come see me. I'll make sure you have everything you need, whenever you need it. You don't have to worry about supplies."

"You don't have to do that," Dean protested.

"Hey, Dean," Sam said in exasperation. "Shut up and just say thank you."

"Thank you," Dean said through gritted teeth. He didn't need anything from Gray. He gave Zack the amulet because it was the right thing to do.

Gray smiled. Dean hadn't changed one bit. "No, man. Thank you."

"We'd better get going," Sam interrupted once more. "The camp's going to send out a search party for us."

Before he could leave, Dean was forced to accept bear hugs from both Gray and Kim.

"Shut up, Sam," Dean warned when they left.

Sam wisely did just that, and he really hoped things went okay, because he knew that Dean shared his feelings that Kim and Gray hadn't really heard a word they had said beyond the fact that the amulet would cure Zack.

-------

"Hey, Number One," Dean called to his CIT.

"What's up?"

"Can you watch the kids for a sec? I need to go grab another bottle of water."

"Sure," Troy called. "Robert, not out so deep please," Troy said turning back to his swimming campers.

Dean got up and wiped the sweat off his forehead as he headed to Meatloaf (the mess hall), for a bottle of water. Dean had been really impressed when Steven had come up with that name. He was trying to convince himself that the temperature was the only reason he was so thirsty, but when he needed to stop at the bathroom for the 4th time already, he knew it was more than that.

It was over 48 hours since he had given the amulet to Zack, and he knew that he was showing symptoms. He had really been hoping that Bobby had been wrong, and that Dean had worn the amulet for so long that he didn't need it anymore. He should have known better, Bobby was never wrong.

He wished he could call the older hunter for advice, but he didn't know how he'd be received. They hadn't exactly parted on good terms the last time he and his father had stayed with Bobby. Dean had never seen the mechanic as mad as he was that night when he chased him and his father off the property with a shotgun.

He decided to deal with it in his usual way, by not dealing with it. He walked back to the lake and sat down on a nearby bench, opened his water and drained half of it in one gulp. He reached up and rubbed his brow. He could feel a headache coming on. It was one of the first he'd had in a long time. He checked his watch. It was only 1pm. It had been a long day and it didn't seem to be ending anytime soon.

"Hey, Commander, you alright?" a voice called interrupting his thoughts.

"What?" Dean called, shaking himself out of his stupor to see Steven take a seat next to him.

"You're drinking way more than normal. Maybe you should go to Motley Crue and have your blood sugar checked."

"I'm fine," Dean replied.

"Remember what you told us?" Isaac said as the rest of the Zeppelins, and Troy, came up behind him. They had all seen what was going on with their leader. They all knew the signs.

"What's that?"

"That no matter how small something is, we shouldn't ignore it," Robert reminded him.

"I'm fine, guys, really," Dean insisted.

"Sure you are," Troy said sarcastically.

"Yeah, Commander, I've seen you drinking and going to the bathroom a lot," Xavier, the informant replied. "So I told Robert."

"Yeah, and they're classic signs that your blood sugar's high," Robert, the researcher replied.

"You wouldn't let us ignore it," Corey added. "You need to get checked out."

"Fine, I'll go," Dean huffed, sounding the age of one of his campers. He knew when he had met his match. They all bitched worse then Sammy. "Hey Number one," Dean said to his CIT. "Keep an eye on these trouble makers would you?"

"Sure thing," Troy agreed as Dean got up and walked down the path toward the medical cabin.

------

Gray sat behind his big, solid, oak desk, trying to concentrate on his paper work. He kept staring at the picture of his family that he kept on his desk though.

He couldn't believe the change that had come over Zack in the last two days. His energy had increased tenfold. He could run and play without getting winded, and he was sleeping through the night instead of spending half the night awake and coughing.

The young physician was also learning just what Dean and Sam had been trying to tell them the other night, and what he hadn't wanted to hear. Gray's father had stopped by on the way to the airport, and had noticed how healthy Zack was. Fortunately, Gray had managed to convince his father that his son was just having a really, really good day.

There was no way Gray would consider giving up the amulet, though, unless Dean asked for it back. Seeing Zack get to be a kid was worth any price.

"Hey, man," a voice called to him, interrupting his thoughts. Gray looked up and saw Dean standing in the doorway. "How's Zack doing?'

"Great," Gray said with a big grin. "I can't thank..." He stopped when Dean held up his hand to cut him off.

"You don't have to thank me. He needs it more than I do," Dean said not looking at Gray.

"Still, not a lot of people would have done that. Alright, I won't say anything more," Gray added when Dean started eyeing the door. "How are you feeling, and if you say 'fine', so help me, I'm kicking your ass into next week. Have your symptoms started yet?'

"This morning," Dean admitted. He didn't want to admit the truth, that he was feeling like crap.

"Have a seat, I'll check your blood sugar. I'm sure you remember the drill." Dean answered with a one finger salute. "I see you do," Gray said with a chuckle as he prepared a lancet. A quick stick later confirmed that Dean's blood sugar was high. "We're going to have to put you back on insulin. Are you sure you don't want the...?"

"Gray," Dean said sharply. "If you ask me that one more time, so help me, I'm going to kick _**your **_ass into next week. I would never do that do you, and I knew this was the outcome of that decision. I can live with diabetes, so just give me the needle."

"I need to figure out your dosage first," Gray confirmed. "Treatments have changed a lot since you were 17. I'll call Troy and tell him you're excused for the rest of the afternoon. You know how fast your blood sugar can get out of control and I want to keep an eye on things. I would prefer if you were in the hospital for a day or two while we did this, but I know that's not happening, so don't bother protesting."

"What do we do?" Dean asked.

"First, I need you to get on the scale so I can check your weight, and we'll go from there. While I'm doing that, I need an answer."

"What's that?' Dean asked a little warily.

"Zack's got a loose tooth. Is there really a tooth fairy?"

-------

Sam was sitting in his cabin wondering how his brother was doing. It was now over the 48 hour mark so he had to be showing symptoms. He just hoped that his big brother wasn't being stubborn, and was getting the help he needed instead of ignoring his symptoms. He really wanted to go find his brother and check on him, but right now, he couldn't leave his cabin. He and Jeff took turns trading off who stayed with Kevin. He was still refusing to participate in anything and only left the cabin for blood tests and food. It was a struggle just getting him to do that. Sam had tried several times to get him to talk, but Kevin always told him exactly what he could do with his advice.

He had mentioned the problem to Dean and asked his brother to talk to Kevin, but Dean had told him that he could handle it, he just had to stop lecturing and start listening.

"Hey, Kevin," Sam replied getting up and going over to the bunk where Kevin was laying and listening to the radio. He needed to do something. He was going stir crazy not knowing what was going on with his brother, and Jeff wasn't due for his shift for at least another hour.

"Do the words 'leave me the hell alone' mean anything to you?"

"Move your feet," Sam demanded, smacking Kevin's shoes. He was surprised when Kevin did, leaving room for Sam to sit down. "You know the guy who's head counsellor in the Zeppelin Cabin?"

"Yeah, so?"

Had he ever had an attitude like this? "He's my brother," Sam replied.

"Good for you. Do you want a medal or something?"

Sam forced himself not to react. There was no way he had been that bad, had he? "Did you know that he's been a diabetic since he was 16?" That wasn't technically a lie. Dean still had diabetes, he'd just had no symptoms for the last 10 years.

"So! Is this where you lecture me on how he's the poster boy for diabetes? Save it. Just leave me the hell alone."

_No, I was never this bad. _Sam couldn't hold back his scoff. "Dean? God, no. The complete opposite exactly. He ended up passing out at school because he didn't want to admit to anyone he was having a hypo. He also put himself in the hospital rather than admit he was diabetic to his friends. He'd be the last person to lecture you about attitude. He was never perfect. He snuck food he wasn't supposed to eat, skipped injections, and he even fudged some test results because he was afraid that it would stop him from doing what he wanted to do sometimes. I can't say I know what you're going through. I just know what I saw my brother go through."

"It sucks ass," Kevin admitted.

"I agree," Sam replied, encouraged by Kevin's response. "You can't change what happened to you. You don't even have to like it. My brother just learned to cope with it. I know I sound like I'm lecturing you," Sam added when he saw Kevin tense up. "I don't mean to, it's just that I hate to see you miss out on everything because of it. The rest of the guys have been talking about a panty raid on the girl's cabin. You want to skip that because you hate having diabetes?"

"Well," Kevin said and hesitated. It encouraged Sam even more. "What's your favourite activity?"

"Swimming," Kevin admitted.

"The lake here's great," Sam said extending an invitation.

Despite everything, Kevin was intrigued. The lake had looked so inviting when he had first seen it. "Alright," he finally conceded. Laying on his bed listening to his counsellor breathe was just boring. "But if I want to stop and come back here, then no arguments. There's also no way I'm going to arts and crafts."

"I don't blame you for the arts and crafts thing, man," Sam replied. "That sucks worse than diabetes."

Kevin couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. This guy wasn't so bad, for an old person. "No hassles about anything else either."

"Promise," Sam said.

"Fine, just give me a minute to get my suit on."

Sam got up and went to the door to wait for Kevin to change. It was the first time he had actually felt like he was doing his job. If he could do his job with the campers, then he really needed to do it with the spirit. It was time to get to the bottom of what was going on at the camp. Later that night, when he had his free time, he went to the admin cabin to make a phone call.

He could have just asked to use the computer. Now that Gray knew the truth, Sam didn't think he'd mind if he used the computer, but he wanted to make the phone call because there was more than just the spirit he wanted information on.

He dialled the familiar number and waited nervously until a gruff voice picked up and said hello.

Sam swallowed and cleared his throat, hoping he wouldn't get hung up on, and announced himself. "Hey Bobby, it's Sam."

------

Bobby Singer could hear the phone ringing as he was walking up his front step. He was kind of hoping it wasn't anything serious. He'd had a long day at the garage and was looking forward to spending the evening with a good book and a cold beer, not necessarily in that order.

"Don't hang up," he shouted to the ringing phone as he fumbled for his keys. He managed to get in and grab the phone just before his answering machine kicked in. "Hello," he said breathlessly. The person on the other end was the last person he had been expecting.

"Hey, Bobby, it's Sam."

The mechanic just about dropped the phone. He hadn't spoken to Sam Winchester since the day he had graduated high school, or John and Dean in about 2 years for that matter, ever since the day he had run John Winchester off his property with a shotgun. That stubborn, elder son of his had thought it included him too, although nothing could have been further from the truth.

While Bobby loved both John's sons like they were his own, it was no secret among any of the Winchesters that he favoured Dean, and had a special bond with him.

"Sam?" Bobby said in surprise and quickly dropped the tone. He didn't want Sam to think he didn't want to talk to him.

"Yeah, I hope it's okay I called," he said tentatively.

"I told you my door's always open," Bobby said sincerely. "Um, Sam, I heard about your girlfriend and I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too," Sam said wistfully. "The reason I'm calling is that I need your help."

"You got it," Bobby replied. "What do you need?"

Bobby listened in disbelief as Sam told them about their latest gig, and wondered just how Sam had managed to get Dean into a summer camp, until Sam mentioned that it was a camp for kids with diabetes. He was shocked to hear that they'd run into Gray, but he was pleased that he and Dean had managed to renew their connection. Bobby had genuine affection for the young man. He had stood by Dean through a lot. Bobby's attention was caught though, when Sam mentioned that Gray had a wife and son, and that Gray's son had cystic fibroses. Bobby didn't even have to guess what came next.

"Dean gave him the amulet," Bobby replied. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," Sam confirmed. "Today's the 48 hour mark and he's showing symptoms again. He took his first insulin injection in 10 years this afternoon."

"How is he?" Bobby asked in concern.

"Gray said his blood sugar's high, but he's doing okay. Gray's keeping a close eye on him."

"That's good. Um, is Dean there?" Bobby asked, even though he knew the young hunter wasn't. Dean would never have let Sam call.

"No, he's back at his cabin. Bobby what happened between you two?

"Nothing. Your brother and father got into it over a hunt, and that stubborn idjit just assumed I meant him too when I pulled the gun on your father. I didn't, Sam."

"I know, Bobby," Sam replied. "What did dad do this time?"

"It's was more of what he didn't do."

------

Bobby Singer had been in his kitchen, cleaning up from dinner, when he heard the familiar rumbling of a '67 Chevy Impala coming down his driveway. He dropped the dishrag in the sink, dried his hands, and went out to meet his guests.

He opened the door and was a little surprised not to see John's truck following the old classic, and he was even more surprised when John got out of the driver's side. He watched curiously as John got out and went around to the other side, opened the door and tried to help his eldest son out of the car.

"I got it," a stubborn voice insisted. "Dude, I'm fine, get off me."

Dean looked anything but fine from where Bobby was standing. His right eye was black and still almost swollen shut, there was bruising on his cheek, and his right wrist was in a cast.

"Hey," Bobby called to the small family as he made his way over to them. "Everything okay?"

"It's fine," John replied. "We just need a place to stay for a few days."

"You got it," Bobby replied. "What the hell happened?" Now that he was up close, John looked a little the worse for wear himself.

"Just a hunt, nothing we couldn't handle," John said vaguely.

"I'm sure. Come on in and tell me the whole story."

John and Bobby turned back to where Dean was standing by the Impala. He had a grip on the top of it, looking like the last thing he wanted do was let go. "I got 'im," Bobby said softly to John. He walked back over to where Dean was standing.

The young hunter had his arms across his ribs and he looked like he was in pain. If Bobby had to guess, he would say that Dean's ribs were either bruised, broken, cracked, or maybe even all three.

"Damn, boy, what did the other guy look like?" Bobby said in a joking tone. "Come on, son, there's apple pie in the kitchen."

"The magic words," Dean tried to joke, but failed as he grimaced when pain shot through his side. He suddenly felt Bobby's support by his elbow. Knowing that shaking Bobby off would only make him mad, Dean allowed the older man to help him to the house. The stairs were torture and he thought that the inside of Bobby's house had never looked so good. "Maybe we better save the pie for after your nap," Bobby stated in a tone that made it clear it was not a suggestion.

Dean wasn't even in the mood to disagree. A bed sounded good. He shot a look to the stairs he would have to climb in order to get to his bedroom. "Why don't you take the sofa in the den? I'll get it pulled out for you," Bobby offered.

"Thanks, Bobby," Dean said gratefully.

It didn't take long to get Dean settled, and then Bobby went to the kitchen to join John, who was rooting around looking for beer.

"Sit, I'll get it," Bobby said forceful tone. "Damn, Johnny, what the hell happened and are you sure Dean shouldn't be in a hospital?"

"We both just were," John confirmed. "We were exorcising a demon and the damn thing busted loose from the devil's trap. It managed to work us over good. I lost consciousness, and Dean managed to send the thing back to hell. The next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital the next day. At this point, Dean was over 24 hours without the amulet. One more day and we were going to have a whole lot of questions that we weren't prepared to deal with. I put it on Dean's neck straight away. I didn't know if I put it on and then removed it, if it would restart the 48 hours or not, but the nurse came and said he had to take it off. So I signed us out AMA the next day and here we are."

"Damn, Johnny, is it safe for him to be out?" Bobby asked.

"I told Dean to tell me if anything felt off, but what choice did I have? How did I explain to the hospital staff how Dean had developed diabetes overnight?"

"I see your point," Bobby conceded. "You stay here as long as need be."

-------

The next few days at Bobby's were peaceful. Dean slept most of the time, and John helped out in the garage. Bobby had a feeling there was a lot more to the story that he wasn't hearing though. Like how did the demon get out of the trap, they were foolproof to all but the highest level of demons. Things seemed tense between John and Dean as well. They had been since Sam had left, but they appeared to be avoiding each other, and walked on eggshells if they were in the same room. It was like they had so many things they wanted to say to the other, but didn't know how to start. It finally happened on the 5th day they were there, and it started so innocently, with a simple comment from Dean about finding their next hunt.

"You're not ready," John insisted.

"I will be in a few days," Dean replied. "I feel much better already."

"That's not what I was talking about," John muttered.

"You got something to say to me?" Dean challenged.

"You weren't paying attention," John suddenly fired back, and watched as Dean flinched.

"I tried to fix it," Dean shot back. "I asked you to make it right for me and you wouldn't let me."

"She was dead anyway. It wouldn't have made a difference," John said cryptically.

"You don't know that," Dean argued. "It was my decision and you took it from me."

"How about you two stop arguing like 12 year olds and tell me what's going on?" Bobby interjected.

Both hunters turned and glared at the mechanic like they had forgotten he was there. "Sorry, Bobby," Dean said quickly.

"It's okay, just tell me what happened."

"The hunt," Dean supplied, his tone bitter. "There was this girl who was injured pretty badly before the exorcism. When I woke up in the hospital, I asked Dad to take the amulet and give it to the girl, so it could help heal her injuries. Dad promised me he would. Then he told me that we needed to leave, so we did and when I got into the car, he gave me back the amulet."

"Dean, her injuries were so severe that she wasn't going to survive, no matter what we did. She was injured long before the exorcism and it didn't help that we had to rough her up some more. It's how we found out about the hunt in the first place," John explained to Bobby. "It was the story of a girl who miraculously survived getting hit by a bus. She was only being kept alive by a machine, son. She was brain dead."

"We don't know that," Dean said again, trying to bury his feelings of guilt. He had made a major mistake and it could have cost both him and his father their lives. "We don't know what effect the amulet would have had. It was my damn decision and you made it, automatically deciding you were right."

"Like you made the right decision by being on the hunt in the first place? You had no damn business being there and you know it," John suddenly exploded. His anger had been growing. He didn't like being second guessed by either of his sons.

"I told you I was fine," Dean replied sullenly, crossing his arms across his chest.

"And I told you to make sure that devil's trap was perfect," John accused.

"You acted like I did it on purpose," Dean defended himself, his words taking on a tone that indicated that he was hurt by his father's words. "I didn't. I didn't mean to draw the symbol backwards. I didn't mean for us to get hurt," Dean replied softly, the fight draining out of him. Bobby hated when Dean acted like that. John had made his own fair share of mistakes when hunting.

"I specifically asked you if you were alright. If seeing Sam had upset you," John said.

"Whoa, hold up," Bobby replied. When had Dean gone to see Sam?

"We had a hunt in Palo Alto," John explained. "Rawhead, and after we were done, Dean insisted on going to see Sam."

"You're acting like I committed a crime. I wanted to see my brother, dad," Dean admitted sadly. To say the visit hadn't gone well, was putting it mildly.

"Did he want to see you?" John fired back. He wished he could take the words back immediately though.

_**"SCREW YOU!"**_ Dean yelled at his father, indicating that John had hit the nail on the head.

"Dean, calm down," Bobby said soothingly.

"Don't tell me to calm down," Dean said shaking Bobby's hand off his shoulder. "I screwed up, it's what I do. I let down the people..."

"Dean, knock that crap off right now. You are not a screw up." Bobby glared at John, his meaning plain. That John had better back up his statement. John stubbornly remained silent. Bobby watched as Dean went completely still. The look on his face completely broke Bobby's heart. It was as if by remaining silent, John had confirmed that he thought his son was a screw up. The thing was, with his temper elevated, John was afraid of saying something he truly would regret, like he had with Sam.

"I'm sorry," Dean replied in a voice that made him sound all of five years old, and had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

John was too angry to think straight. He hated fighting with his sons. He had said so many things to Sammy when he had found out about his youngest going to college. In the heat of the moment, he had told Sammy to leave and not come back. It was just typical that his youngest chose to obey that order. The problem was that John rarely ever admitted that he was wrong, and he had repeated the same mistake and said something to his eldest, something he had never meant to say, and something he could never take back. "You should be. Hunting is a serious business, and if I was Sammy, I wouldn't want you around either the way you've been acting lately. It's time to smarten up. Sammy's gone and he's not coming back."

Dean reacted as if he had been punched in the gut. He looked like his whole world had shattered in that one statement. The next thing John knew, he heard a shotgun being cocked and he looked up to see Bobby standing there with the business aimed at him. "Get out," Bobby growled.

"Bobby, I didn't mean..."

"I don't give a rat's ass what you meant or didn't mean. Get the hell off my property."

"Fine," John replied.

Dean looked at Bobby, fully misunderstanding the situation, his eyes full of pain and sorrow. "I'm sorry, Bobby. Do you want this back?" he said indicating the amulet that hung around his neck.

"'Course not, Dean," Bobby replied gently.

"Kay, thanks," he replied. "Dad, wait up," he called fearfully, afraid that his father was going to leave without him.

"Dean, wait," Bobby called to his retreating back, but Dean was out the door and Bobby heard the car start up and pull away. He tried to call Dean several times, but the young man never answered, and one day Bobby got a message that the number was out of service.

------

When Bobby finished his story, Sam couldn't believe how angry he felt toward his father. "Sam, let it go," Bobby cautioned, guessing what he was feeling.

"But..." Sam replied in a forced tone. "How could dad have said that to him?"

"He didn't mean it. The same way he didn't mean it when he told you to not come back. He was just mad. I'm not saying it made it right, but it's over. Don't bring it up again. Now I want something from you," Bobby requested.

"What?"

"What happened when Dean came to see you at Stanford?"

Sam swallowed a bit nervously. That was one thing he wished he'd had to do over again.

TBC

Please make my day and read and review.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Still Don't own them.

Thanks to Soar for the beta, and also to JuliaAurelia and Sinead-Conlan.

Stanford University was built in 1885 and is located adjacent to Palo Alto, California, on 8,138 acres, making it the largest university campus in the world. It was ranked fourth among national universities. It had top notch academic programs and faculty. Graduates formed companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems and Google. Students went on to be famous scientists, athletes, and it even boasted presidents among its alumni.

With those kinds of credentials, it would make sense that one would be ecstatic if they received a full ride to cover the $30,000 yearly tuition for undergraduates.

Getting accepted to such a prestigious university was a dream come true for 18 year old Sam Winchester. He had grown up in the back of a 1967 Chevy Impala. He went to about 3 different schools a year, on average. Play time was weapons training. Extra curricular reading consisted of urban legends, Latin chants, and literature on every type of monster that existed.

His plan had been to try and break the news that he _**was **_accepting that scholarship slowly. Give his father and brother time to get used to the idea, but his father had been looking for something, had gone through Sam's bag, found the acceptance letter and then all hell had broken loose, which ended with Sam getting thrown out of the house and told that if was going, he should stay gone.

That was fine with him. He hated the way he had been raised and he couldn't wait to get out of there. He hitchhiked to Palo Alto because he wouldn't give in and use a fraudulent credit card. He lived in a room the size of a closet and waited tables until he could get into his dorm room.

He and his roommate, Toby Ebbings, hit it off right from the start. Toby was from a big family and by the end of the first weekend, they had all but officially adopted Sam. He enjoyed his classes, and for once, got to study things that interested him. The research skills he had learned also in handy. He could find anything and was great at extracting meaning from poems or short stories. He had several requests to join study groups and he quickly formed a tight knit group of friends. He had plenty of social invitations and he was never alone on holidays.

He had everything he wanted, everything he had ever dreamed of, so why, then, did he feel so miserable?

The first few months he could explain. He missed Dean, and hell, he even missed his dad. Despite everything, he knew that his father loved him. He was just so god-damned stubborn with his 'my way or the highway' mentality.

He and Dean had sporadic contact. Sam usually got a text when his brother and his father started or finished a new job. There wasn't much, just stuff like locations and what they were hunting. Sam texted back and let Dean know that he had got to Stanford safely. He had called once but got Dean's answering machine. He left a message but Dean didn't return his call. To be fair, Dean had left him a voicemail as well that Sam hadn't returned.

As hard as he tried, Sam found it was hard to drop old habits. He wouldn't let himself or his roommate open the door without knowing what was on the other side. For the first year, he slept with a knife under his pillow, like Dean had taught him. He only stopped because his roommate had been doing him a favour and removing his sheets to take them to the laundry, and had almost cut off his finger.

When his friends sat around talking about their friends and family, and memories of home, vacations and school, Sam didn't have much to contribute outside the year he and Dean had spent at Westcott Prep. Even then, there wasn't a whole lot to talk about. He didn't want to answer questions as to why they had moved at the end of that school year.

He knew everything about his friends and their families. So far all they knew about him was that he was born in Kansas, his mother had died when he was a baby, and that he had an older brother who worked with his father in their business as travelling consultants.

Sam often felt like he didn't belong in the normal world, but he didn't belong in the hunting world either. Where exactly did he belong?

It was the start of his third year. Sam had spent part of his summer working, but he had spent the last 2 weeks at his friend, Eddie Ryerson's, house.

Eddie's parents were extremely nice, but they were big on family and they asked Sam endless questions about himself, most of which he couldn't answer without making his father sound like some kind of whack job. He couldn't even tell them what Dean had done for him because he didn't want his father to sound negligent, even though he was. He could never understand why that bothered him so much because he was 21, and beyond the reach of social services. He guessed that had just been so ingrained into him, it was another habit he was having trouble shedding.

The visit just left him resenting his childhood all over again, so when Dean showed up on his doorstep, Sam was glad to see him, but the timing of his visit couldn't have been worse.

-------

"Combinatorial number theory includes a study of many specific theories of numbers, including binomial coefficients, the Fibonacci numbers, Bernoulli numbers and so on, and so on. I'm never going to pass this," Toby Ebbings complained to his roommate Sam Winchester. "I'm a history major. What the hell do I need this for?"

"Take that one up with the dean," Sam said indulgently and rolled his eyes. This was not the first time Toby had complained about this. Neither Sam nor Toby had been happy when they'd found out that they needed a math credit to graduate. Sam had taken the course last year, and just managed to squeak out a pass. Toby had decided to wait until the last possible moment and was taking the course this year.

"Think you can try to explain this to me?" Toby asked desperately. "I really need to pass this test. Man, this class is seriously going to kill my GPA."

"Maybe Eddie can help," Sam suggested. Their friend was an engineering major.

"I tried that. I love the guy, but he's definitely not cut out for teaching. "

Sam had to agree. "I don't see how much help I can be. I mean, I barely passed. My brother was the math genius in the family," Sam replied and immediately bit his tongue. He hadn't meant to mention Dean.

"Do you think we could call him? I'm getting a little desperate here," Toby begged and wished he had bitten his tongue, when Sam visibly tensed. "Never mind! Just check this out for me. See if you can make heads or tales out of it?"

"Fine," Sam replied as he accepted Toby's notebook.

The young man watched as Sam reviewed his work. He and Sam had been roommates for a little over 2 years, and Sam had even been to his house, but Toby knew next to nothing about him. The guy kept secrets better than the Pentagon. Toby understood a person's right to privacy. He had grown up with 6 siblings and privacy was almost non-existent in his parents' small house, but nothing piqued Toby's curiosity more than Sam's brother.

The Dean. Toby felt perfectly comfortable capitalizing that because the few times Sam spoke about him, you would think the guy had hung the moon. Yet, he'd never seen Sam get a telephone call or a letter from anyone in his family. He had said he and his dad were on the outs, but why didn't the brothers have contact? Toby would never admit this out loud, but he was seriously beginning to wonder if Dean was made up.

_**KNOCK KNOCK**_

"I'll get it, Sam. It's probably Eddie," Toby offered. "You keep working on decrypting that," he added indicating his math book.

It was not who Toby was expecting at all. The guy standing at the door was a little taller than him. He had short, light brown, spiked hair and wore jeans that were ripped at the knees. His t-shirt, and over shirt were both faded and had definitely seen better days. He also wore a used, worn looking, leather jacket. Toby also noticed a pendant that was hanging around the stranger's neck. It looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Can I help you?" Toby asked cautiously. He wondered whether Sam's paranoia about always knowing who was there before opening the door wasn't the right way to go. Whoever this stranger was, he had an aura of danger around him.

"Is Sam here?" the stranger asked.

Toby thought the guy sounded a little nervous, and he wondered if he wasn't being paranoid himself.

"Who's asking?" Toby demanded. He decided that he still needed to be a bit cautious.

"I'm..."

"Dean!" Sam called in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"This is your brother?" Toby asked in shock. He had truly thought Dean was made up.

Ignoring him, Sam glared at Dean and asked again, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Can't I just stop in to see my little bro?" Dean asked, trying to keep his tone light.

"It's been 2 years," Sam reminded his brother.

Dean shrugged as if it was no big deal. "I was in the neighbourhood."

"The phone," Sam pointed out.

Toby's head swivelled back and forth as he watched the exchange between the bothers start to heat up. He recognized the signs of a knock down, drag out fight. "Hey, Dean," he said trying to break things up before they escalated any further. "I've got a bit of a situation here and I need your help."

"What's that?" Dean asked as he tore his gaze away from Sam and tried to concentrate on what the guy was saying. Maybe his dad had been right. Maybe this was a mistake.

"Math test. Sam says you're a genius. I've gotta pass, man."

"I don't know, Toby," Sam said doubtfully. He knew his brother was smart, but this was college level math.

Not willing to admit that Sam's words stung, Dean grabbed the book that Toby had just snatched off Sam's desk. "Let me see." What Sam didn't know was that Dean had kept up with the advanced level math and science classes he'd taken when they were at Westcott. He had enjoyed the challenge they had given him. Not that he'd ever admit that, though.

For the next hour, Sam watched as Dean was able to walk Toby through the material he needed to know. He didn't know why he was surprised. Dean had a way of explaining things to him so that they made sense. No matter what the subject.

"Thanks," Toby said appreciatively when they were done.

"No problem. Sammy can we go..."

"Hey," Toby said interrupting him. This might be his only chance to actually get some info on Sam. He didn't know why he was so curious, but he was. "We all meet for dinner on Thursdays. Why don't you come with us?"

"Um, I don't know," Dean said hesitantly. He wasn't sure of his ability to carry on a conversation with a bunch of college students, and he didn't want to embarrass his brother.

"Come on. I know you and Sam probably want to spend some time together, but I know our friends want to meet you. Sam's told us a lot about you," Toby encouraged as he misread the reason behind Dean's hesitation. "It's all settled then." He wasn't going to give them a chance to say no.

------

Sam's group of friends consisted of his roommate Toby, Eddie Ryerson, who was a year younger and had been in Sam's math class, and Eddie's roommate Henry Peters. Eddie introduced them to his girlfriend Kate Bushnell and Kate's best friend Amy Johnson. There was one person missing from their party though. Sam had met Jessica Moore when he was working in the library and they had gone out a few times, and she usually joined them. Sam wished she was here so he could introduce her to Dean but she'd had a family emergency and was out of town until next week.

They had started the tradition of going out to dinner one night a week just to get away from the stress of school work. Sam had been reluctant at first. He was worried about his ability to keep up. His scholarship depended on maintaining a suitable GPA, but Toby had literally dragged him from the room. Sam was glad he had because he had really enjoyed himself, and the 6 of them had become close friends.

Sam ran the gamut of emotions that night. He started out feeling highly uncomfortable as Dean faced the inevitable questions. Sam was worried about what Dean would say. He breathed a sigh of relief when they were finally finished, and Dean hadn't said anything that Sam didn't want to deal with.

He was worried that Dean would be bored though. His brother didn't have much in common with his friends, but Kate started talking about the latest episode of CSI. Apparently, Dean watched it and was able to chat about it with both Kate and Amy. Dean mentioned that he had met a forensic mathematician and he and Eddie got into a conversation about some number theory that, to Sam, didn't even sound like they were speaking English. Sam couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Dean so relaxed and unguarded.

It was then he started getting angry. It was mostly at their father. Dean should have been able to have this. His grades at Westcott were good, and his math teacher had even said he would give Dean a recommendation to MIT. Dean should have been able to go, but Sam knew he would never leave their father. That left him feeling angry at Dean for always doing whatever their father said. He knew it wasn't rational anger, but just once, he wanted to see his brother stand up for himself against their father. Just watching the way Dean had lit up when talking to Eddie was all the proof Sam needed that his brother could have done well.

The first chance Sam had to be alone with this brother was later that evening. Dean tried to go to a motel, but Toby said that he could crash with a buddy, and Dean could take his bed so the brothers could catch up.

"It's good to see you, Sammy," Dean said as soon as Toby left.

"You too," Sam said sincerely and he did mean it. "Why are you here? Is dad okay?" Sam may have had issues with his dad, but that didn't mean he wanted anything to happen to him, and he was almost positive that he was okay because Dean had been so relaxed. If anything had happened to their father, Dean would never had agreed to go out for dinner.

"He's fine. We just finished a job out this way. Rawhead. We've got a possible demon possession next. Dad's doing the research and I'm going to join him in a couple of days."

"He let you come here?' Sam asked before he could stop himself. He knew it was the wrong thing to say when Dean visibly tensed.

"I'm 25, dude," Dean reminded his brother in a defensive tone.

"He didn't want you to, did he?" Sam guessed.

"Don't start, okay? Dad does the be..."

"Don't you dare," Sam snapped. "I'm so sick of that crap. You don't have to make excuses for him anymore. I'm not 8 years old anymore, Dean."

"Can we not fight?" Dean asked, a touch of desperation in his tone. He was sick and tired of playing referee between his dad and brother. "Dad's not even here. I just wanted to spend a couple days with my kid brother."

"Fine," Sam said letting it drop. Despite everything, it was good to see his brother. "You and Eddie seemed to get along." Sam was trying to put the conversation back into neutral territory. "He must have been in heaven. No one else will talk about math with him."

Dean shrugged. "We covered some of that stuff when I was at Westcott," Dean said non-chalantly.

"You remember all that? I was lucky I remembered it from one class to the next," Sam added quickly. He didn't want Dean to misinterpret what he was saying.

"I'm impressed you remember all that poetry crap." Studying poetry in English had been the bane of Dean's academic career.

"I like it," Sam admitted.

"Where did I go wrong?" Dean said with a shake of his head. "I thought I taught you better than that."

The brothers continued to banter for the next couple of hours. Sam had to admit he had missed his big brother.

-------

The following morning, Dean was going to go try to find a pool hall, or some place to go hustle, but Eddie stopped by Sam's dorm and invited Dean to his math class. He explained that most of them were taught by TAs and they wouldn't even notice. Dean was a little reluctant, but Eddie managed to persuade him.

Dean was surprised that he enjoyed the class. The math was over his head, but he found the stuff they were studying interesting. Sam invited Dean to the rest of his classes that day. Most of them Dean found boring, but he was able to amuse himself. He even had a date with one of the redheads in Sam's political science class.

Sam's last class of the day was his elective. In an effort to lighten his course load, he had decided to take a folklore class. While the work was easy, the professor reminded Sam way too much of his father. He tended to lecture and there was very little discussion. He didn't like it when someone disagreed with him. It was a lesson Sam had learned when he tried to correct his professor on the proper way to dispose of a ghoul. Sam knew from experience that you needed a head shot with a silver bullet.

"I'm surprised you're taking this class," Dean said as he took a seat next to his brother.

"Well, I figured it would be easy."

"Bet you give the teacher a few pointers."

Sam shook his head. "No. Professor Baker knows it all. He doesn't like disagreements."

"I may just..."

"Dean, don't" Sam interrupted. "Don't start anything please. I have to finish classes with this guy."

"You're no fun, Sammy, you know that?'

Professor Baker entered the room shortly after that and called the class to order. "Today we are going to be talking about ancient artefacts," Professor Baker said as he dimmed the lights. "They have a long history. Today, we are going to start with the myth of the Amulet of Harmonia."

The last thing Sam wanted to see was a huge picture of the necklace that Dean wore around his neck. Sam watched as Dean discretely tucked his necklace under his T-shirt.

When the professor was done telling the story, he turned to the class. "There is no way this thing works," he informed the class.

"Why?" Dean suddenly blurted out before he could help himself.

"Dean," Sam hissed as loud has he dared. "You promised."

"Because," the teacher answered. "If it did, why don't more people seek it out? Usually there are stories and legend about people who have had such an artefact, and I haven't heard one."

"Maybe no one knows where it is, or even how to go about finding it," Dean answered. "If I had something like that, I wouldn't advertise it. I'd do my best to keep it hidden."

"So you think it might work?"

"Well, according to the legend, Harmonia was as good as dead. Then as soon as the priestess crafted the necklace she, like, got better over night. There're references all through history of people surviving when they shouldn't. I mean, look at the Romanovs in Russia in the 1600's. Their son, Alexi, was said to have haemophilia. Rasputin was said to be able to help if the boy had a bleeding episode. It was said that was how he had a hold over the tsarina. It would fit. I mean, if he had that amulet, he could easily control the boy's health by removing the amulet, or giving it to him." Dean paused. He could feel Sam's eyes staring a hole through him. "What?" he whispered. "I read."

"Interesting theory," the Professor agreed. "But if Rasputin had that amulet, why didn't he use if for himself. The villagers attempted to kill him several times."

"Because it only works with illness or disease, like you said in your lecture."

"Nice to know someone paid attention," the Professor joked as the class laughed. Before he could say anything else, class ended. "We'll pick up this discussion tomorrow."

Just as Sam and Dean were about to get ready to leave, Sam heard the professor coming up to them. "Excuse me," he addressed Dean. "What's your name? I don't think I've seen you in my class before."

"Dean Winchester, sir. I'm Sam's brother. I'm just visiting for a couple of days."

"I hadn't really thought about what you said before. I'd be interested to hear some more of your theories on the amulet. Do you mind accompanying me to my office?"

"Um, sure," Dean replied, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. He just wanted to make a good impression on Sam's teacher.

"So why do you think Rasputin didn't die?" the Professor questioned.

"Who knows? Crossroads demon? Maybe he sold his soul, asking for power and immortality until his deal came due."

Sam couldn't believe it. He and this professor never got along, and here was Dean getting invited to his office.

------

After classes, Toby, Sam and Dean walked back to their dorm. Things would have been fine except that Toby took the same folklore class, just in a different time slot, and he finally remembered why Dean's amulet looked so familiar to him.

"Hey, Dean, can I see your amulet?" Toby asked. "It looks just like the one we studied in class the other day."

"Um," Dean said and hesitated. He didn't like taking it off because he still wasn't sure if the 48 hour delay was straight away or cumulative. He finally pulled it over his head and handed it to Toby, thinking that the longer he stalled, the more it looked like he had something to hide. "I found it at a yard sale for a quarter. It's not real."

"Maybe we could test it," Toby said in a tone that left the brothers wondering if he was serious or kidding. "I've got a friend in my history class that has asthma."

"No!" Sam cried.

"Trust me, it doesn't work," Dean covered. "Just before I came here, I had a nasty case of the flu. I wish it had worked while I was puking my guts up." Dean reached to take the amulet back.

"Maybe I'll bring Matt to dinner with us," Toby joked as he handed it back to Dean and walked away before either Sam or Dean could say anything.

"Damn it," Sam said sounding frustrated. "What if he does bring his friend?"

"He wasn't serious, Sam," Dean said. "I don't think they really believe it. It's an urban legend to them."

"But it's not, Dean. It's very real. Maybe you shouldn't come to dinner tonight," Sam said worriedly.

"Sam, relax."

"Don't. I came here to get away from hunting and the lying. I want to be normal."

"Sam…"

"No, Dean. What if my friends start to question something else? I'm done with hunting."

"Sam, I won't go to dinner okay?" Dean tried to compromise. "I don't have to meet dad until Sunday. How about we meet in town tomorrow, just the two of us."

"I have to work at the library. I already missed my shift last Saturday because I had a really big assignment I needed to finish. I can't miss two weeks in a row."

"Maybe we could meet after. I can hang out until you're done."

"I don't think it's a good idea." Toby recognizing the amulet had scared him. He didn't want any of his friends to know anything about his past.

"But, Sam…" Dean started. "Do you want me to go?" he asked finally.

_Hell no! _If Dean walked out that door, he wasn't coming back. "I want you to stop hunting," Sam suddenly blurted out, surprising Dean. That was the last thing Dean had expected Sam to say.

"I can't..."

Sam cut him off. "You don't have to do everything dad says."

"Why does it always come back to that with you? I hunt because it helps people."

"Why don't you stay here?"

"I can't, Sam," Dean said sadly. "I don't fit in here."

"That's crap," Sam said getting angry again. "My friends like you, you enjoyed my classes. You even manage to charm the teacher everybody hates. Why don't you look at going to the local community college?"

"I'm a hunter. It's in my blood. "

"That's dad talking," Sam said his irritation clear. "Why don't you make up your own mind for once?" Sam blurted out before he could stop himself. He hadn't meant to say that out loud. The only thing he wanted was for his brother to stop getting hurt. He didn't want to be the one getting the call that said he had to go identify his brother's body, or his father's for that matter.

Dean flinched as if he had been slapped. "I can't be want you want me to be," Dean snapped back. "I can make up my mind about that. I'm a hunter. It's the only thing I know."

"But it doesn't have to be, Dean," Sam said. He wanted more for his brother than a life of loneliness.

"Sam…"

"No, I can't do this anymore," Sam said, meaning he really didn't want to fight.

"Okay, Sammy. I'm sorry. Maybe dad was right. Maybe I shouldn't have come. I won't bother you anymore, but give me a call once in a while, let me know you're all right."

"Yeah, you too," Sam answered even though inside, he was screaming for Dean not to leave.

Dean walked out the door, and both brothers knew they wouldn't keep their promise. When the door clicked shut behind his brother, Sam picked up a paper weight he had sitting on his desk and threw it as hard as he could.

When Toby came back that night, Sam was nowhere to be found, and he found a hole in the drywall and the broken paperweight on the floor.

-------

"That's the whole story, Bobby," Sam said to the elder hunter. "We fought and I guess Dean thought I didn't want any more to do with him."

"Damn fools," Bobby said.

"Everything was just one big misunderstanding," Sam replied.

"I know," Bobby agreed. "Winchesters really do need to look up the definition of communication."

"So do Singers," Sam fired back. "What about that whole misunderstanding with dad?"

"Okay, you got me there," Bobby admitted grudgingly, and Sam could hear a mumbled, "idjit."

"You should talk to Dean, Bobby. I know he misses you."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll look up that information and get back to you."

"Thanks, man," Sam replied gratefully. "I'll talk to you later."

Sam hung up the phone and turned, only to run into his brother. "Who was that, Sam?" Dean asked.

Sam looked at the phone in his hand. "Bobby wants you to call him," Sam said as he handed the phone to his brother.

TBC

A/N: All information on Stanford comes from Wikipedia. Please make my day by reading and reviewing.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A huge thank you to Soar for the beta job, any left over mistakes are my own. Thanks, also, to JuliaAurelia and Sinead-Conlan for their feedback and encourgment.

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

Sam looked at the phone in his hand. "Bobby wants you to call him," he replied before he could change his mind, and he extended the phone to his brother. Sam wasn't surprised when Dean made no move to take it. He wasn't naive enough to think it would have been that easy. What he wasn't expecting was the anger flashing through Dean's eyes.

"So why did he call you?" Dean asked, even though he was pretty sure that Sam had been the one to reach out and touch someone.

"He didn't," Sam admitted. He had been tempted to lie, but he was pretty sure that his brother wouldn't believe that Bobby would just call Sam out of the blue after so long. "I called him."

"What the hell for?" Dean fired back. _Damn it, why was this happening now? _They were in the middle of a hunt, he was trying to deal with being back on insulin injections, and to top it all off, their father was still missing in action.

Ever since they had found out that their father's number was working, he had left his dad several messages. He had to have been getting them because if he wasn't, then his mailbox would have been full. He wondered if this was part of the reason why he was so mad at the thought of calling Bobby. He was afraid the other man wouldn't pick up, either. _Shut the hell up, Dean. _

"He's not mad at you," Sam insisted. "He never was."

"Shut up," Dean warned. He wasn't dealing with this, he couldn't. The fact that he still felt guilty about that woman's death was just icing on the cake. Sam didn't need to know about another one of his failures, but if Dean had to guess, it was likely that Bobby had shared the whole story with Sam.

"He told me the whole story. What happened wasn't your fault," Sam said as if he had just read Dean's thoughts.

"Did that fancy Stanford education not teach you the definition of shut the hell up?" Dean said, the guilt he still felt was evident in his tone and he cursed himself for being so week. _Sam wasn't there. Sam didn't' know. _Of course, the kid was like a dog with a bone, and Dean didn't need to be psychic to guess the next words out of Sam's mouth.

"Bobby told me that woman was brain dead before the hunt..."

It was as far as Sam got. He had warned Sam that he didn't want to talk about it, and Dean's temper got the best of him. He grabbed a handful of Sam's shirt and pinned him against the wall.

"I screwed up," he said with finality. He really hoped that his brother would take the hint that he _**didn't**_ want to discuss this. Sam wasn't even supposed to know about it. "Dad could have died, Sam. Don't you understand that? It was my screw up..."

Rage exploded throughout Sam's body. There was nothing that got his ire up faster than when Dean started on his "everything is my fault" feelings. The stupid jerk could probably find a way to blame himself for the Kennedy assassination. Cursing their father under his breath, Sam brought his arms up and forced Dean's hands off him. "_**You**_ knock it off." He was all but shouting. "What about you, Dean? Huh? You could have died too. You..."

"I made a mistake," Dean said in frustration.

"Like you're the only one that ever did that?" Sam's level of frustration equalled Dean's. He was seriously trying not to strike out at his brother in anger. He wanted to find his dad, just so he could kill him, then he'd find a way to bring him back to life just so he could do it all over again. Then he'd do it again, and once more for good measure. "Dad made a boat load of them. I've made my fair share of them. What about that time dad used you as bait and waited too long. You could have died then, Dean. Hell, you almost did! Why don't you ever stop to think of that? Or is it that you don't think you matter?" Sam fired back, wondering how this had escalated so fast, when it was the last thing he had meant to happen. He should have known better than to bring up their father. Dean would defend him to his dying breath, and sure enough...

"You weren't there. Dad didn't screw up on that hunt, I did, and I was 17 when dad used me as bait. I knew full well what I was doing. It was important for dad to make sure the thing got close enough. He didn't do it on purpose."

Sam didn't fail to notice that Dean didn't address his last point, but still his anger was intensifying. His brother had so much to offer. Why was he the only one that couldn't see it? "You did? Did you draw that symbol backwards on purpose? Of course you didn't. Why does dad get a pass but you don't? Explain that one to me!"

Sam could see just how tightly Dean was wound. One more word and Sam wouldn't be surprised if Dean decked him. He was definitely pushing his brother's hot buttons. He could see Dean's hands clench by his side. He could tell his brother was ready to blow any minute.

"Why do you always have to bring up dad?" Dean tried to deflect the attention off himself. It made him extremely uncomfortable. "I..." He stopped abruptly.

As fast as Sam's anger had built up, it disappeared almost instantly as Dean suddenly swayed as if he was about to keel over. _How could he be such an idiot?_ He was pressing all his brother's buttons, completely forgetting that Dean once again had diabetes. "Sit down." He grabbed his brother's arm to steady him and led him over to a chair. He didn't bother to ask his brother how he was feeling. All he would get was the standard Winchester answer of "fine."

"Dude, get off me," Dean said, batting Sam's hands away from him. He didn't need to be hovered over.

"I'm just trying to help," he said sincerely. He didn't fail to notice that Dean actually sat and made no move to get up. _Sugar, he needed to get Dean some sugar. _

He looked all over the office he was standing in. There were no vending or soda machines. _Damn it, who runs a camp for diabetics but doesn't make sugar easily accessible_?

"Sam," Dean said trying to get his brother's attention.

"I'll run to the mess hall and get you sugar..."

"Sam," Dean tried again.

"You stay here. _**Don't move!" **_He turned and ran out of the building before Dean could stop him.

"SAM!" Dean called to his brother's back. He shrugged, and despite everything that had just gone on, Dean couldn't help the amused smile that graced his lips as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of M&Ms. His brother never did know how to listen.

--------

Dean's amusement was short lived when he felt another wave of dizziness overtake him. He should have known better than to get into it with Sam. Fighting and getting mad had always affected his blood sugar. _He really was an idiot!_ Not wanting to be passed out on the floor when Sam and Gray got back, and Dean had no doubt that Sam would have the physician in tow, he popped a few M&Ms in his mouth. He was relieved when the room eventually stopped spinning. Damn, it had been way to long since he'd had to deal with this.

His hand reached up and sought the amulet that had hung around his neck for so long. A brief moment of panic flashed through him when he realized it wasn't there. He still couldn't help the feelings of resentment that suddenly bubbled up in him when he ate a few more M&Ms. Having diabetes, and dealing with all the crap that went with it, and he suddenly wanted his amulet back and was regretting giving it up. The feeling only lasted a few seconds when he remembered who had it and the good it was doing. _God, he really was a selfish son of a bitch. _

To say that he wasn't exactly feeling up to being poked and prodded was an understatement. He ate the last of his remaining M&Ms, got up, threw the bag in the garbage and headed toward the door. Winchester luck reared its ugly head when he no sooner walked down the steps than he literally ran into Sam and Gray.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sam demanded. Dean really seemed to have lost any sense that God gave him.

"I'm not stupid, Sam," Dean ground out with extreme irritation. "I know to carry sugar. I had candy in my pocket."

"Why didn't you say something?" Sam snapped.

"I tried," Dean fired back. "You never listen."

Gray watched the exchange between the brothers. He could sense the tension between them, and he could clearly hear the _"you never do,"_ spoken at the end of Dean's words. "Why don't you come with me to the medical cabin and let me give you a quick once over." Gray kept his tone light, making sure that Dean knew it was a suggestion. If he made it sound like an order, Dean would never agree.

"How's Zack?" Dean asked, using a Winchester diversionary tactic.

"Zacky is doing great," Gray replied in a tone that was both ecstatic and placating. He knew exactly what Dean was doing. "You know that, though. We aren't talking about Zack, we're talking about you. Just do it to humor two worrywarts, would you."

"Fine," Dean huffed. He knew they'd never leave him alone otherwise.

The two men walked on either side of Dean, as if trying to prevent his escape. Dean soon found himself seated on a medical table while Gray took his blood sugar. "I'd prefer if you'd stay in the infirmary overnight," Gray said. The cabin was equipped with 4 beds for campers and staff who needed monitoring, but weren't sick enough to go to a hospital.

"Not happening," Dean said firmly. "We discussed this, Gray."

"If I remember that discussion correctly," Gray said, making air quotes around the word with his fingers. "It consisted of you telling me that it would be a cold day in hell before that happened."

"I have a cabin to look after," Dean said and did his best to ignore Sam glaring at him.

"Right now, you're relieved of duty. I told Troy he's in charge. You know how easy your blood sugar can get out of whack. We need to keep a close eye on it, especially for the first few days."

"I get it. I'm fine, just let me do my job." Dean ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "I don't need anyone hovering over me."

"Just eat something then," Gray compromised. "I don't want you having a hypo in your sleep. I told Troy that you were having problems with your insulin pump, and hadn't gotten the correct dose in the last few days, and that your blood sugar destabilized, so he knows what to be on the lookout for. Don't be a tough guy here, okay? If you need help, _**ask."**_

"We done?" Dean questioned impatiently.

"You haven't changed a bit," Gray said with a shake of his head. "Yeah, we're done."

"About time," Dean jumped off the gurney.

"Dean, about Bobby," Sam called after his brother.

"Leave it alone," Dean said warily as he headed out the door.

---------

Resisting the urge to follow Dean back to his cabin, as it would not be appreciated, Sam grilled Gray about his brother's condition, seeking assurances that he would be alright. No matter how mad he got at Dean, something happening to him topped Sam's worst fear list. The standard answer of "he's doing as well as he can be," did little to satisfy him, or allay his fears. He felt bad for snapping at Gray, but what the hell kind of answer was that?

Knowing there wasn't much else he could do, Sam headed back to his cabin, where he was accosted by Austin and Travis asking to take them to the soccer pitch. After they had discovered just how good Sam was at it, they agreed to stop trying to put itching powder in his underwear if he would show them some moves. Even though it was getting late, Sam was grateful for the distraction. After they returned a while later, he and Jeff took the brat pack, as Sam had dubbed his campers, to the medical cabin for insulin shots, checkups and blood sugar testing.

All too soon, Sam found himself lying down on his cot, staring at the ceiling. He knew there was no point in trying to sleep, he'd just toss and turn. He wished he had a book, because his mind was going a mile a minute, and he needed something to focus on. Giving in, and knowing he was in for a world of hurt the next day, Sam grabbed his cell phone.

Saying a quick prayer of thanks that he got a signal, Sam quickly sent a text message to his brother. He wanted to call, but Dean's campers were younger and he didn't want to wake them if they were asleep.

*r u ok?*

He put the phone down and hoped for a response. It felt like forever before it vibrated. Sam grabbed it like a lifeline offered to a drowning man.

*Good nite SAMANTHA!*

Biting back a smile, Sam put the phone down. He knew texting Dean further wouldn't do much good, he wouldn't answer. He lay back down and tried to sleep. His brother was definitely going to kill him tomorrow. Their dad had done the exact same thing when Dean had been first diagnosed. His brother couldn't even walk from one room to the next without their father wanting him to check his blood sugar. He remembered getting mad at their dad for it. God, he really was turning into his father. Sam shuddered and before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep.

-----

_He found himself standing on the lake shoreline. It was unfamiliar,__but he felt content, not tense or anxious. He could feel the sun's warm rays beaming down on his face and the cool breeze that was coming off the lake. The sounds of the wind rustling the trees, and the sizzling of steaks on the grill enhanced__his feelings of happiness. _

_He could hear happy shouts and voices in the background, and a tall man with short hair was standing in the lake next to a young boy, patiently holding him above the water as the little boy kicked and tried to stay afloat by himself. _

_The wind picked up and he shivered, all the warmth he'd been feeling was suddenly replaced by a strange sense of foreboding. He glanced around quickly, but all seemed well. There was a husband and wife by the barbeque, laughing as if they didn't have a care in the world. The man and the boy were making their way out of the lake toward his group. The little one was laughing at something the tall man had said. It was a picture perfect scene, yet everything felt wrong. _

_He quickly scanned his surroundings again. This time he noticed__an SUV with tinted windows that drove by and slowed down. He looked away when the husband and wife called him and he started walking toward them again. They called the man and boy to come join them as well. _

_From the corner of his eye,__he saw__the door or the SUV open and a man stepped__out. He was tall, well muscled, and had a large scar running down the side of his face. Despite the thuggish look of the guy, he was dressed like someone who had money in a tailored suit. His whole demeanour screamed danger and keep away. He reached into his Armani suit jacket and withdrew a small black object. _

_Time suddenly seemed to speed up, as a gun shot rang through the air, followed by a hysterical cry of, __**"ZACK!"**_

----------

Bolting straight up as if he were on fire, Sam almost fell out of bed and he stifled his urge to cry out, both from fright and pain. His head was killing him. He reached up and rubbed his brow as he tried to get his breathing and racing heartbeat under control.

That nightmare had felt so vivid, so real. It was almost like the ones he'd had just before...

God no! He couldn't go there. No! Just No! What in the hell was happening to him? More importantly, what did that dream mean? Was Zack really in danger?

What the hell was happening to him?

----------

Glancing at his watch, Sam realized that it was only 6:30, it was another hour before Dean would be up, but he suddenly didn't care. Dean was always the one Sam went to when he was scared. Yes, damn it, he was scared of his dreams and he wanted advice.

Throwing off his covers, Sam grabbed his shoes and quietly slipped out of the cabin and headed directly to Zeppelin cabin.

"Hey, Sam, that was quick," Troy said in surprise as Sam entered the cabin.

The young hunter was shocked to see all of the kids up. They were all huddled on one bed. A couple of them looked like they had been crying.

Looking around frantically, Sam realized that his brother was nowhere to be found. "Where's Dean?" he asked, his tone very uneasy.

"Um, Dean had some..."

"What the hell happened?" Sam snapped, and he immediately felt bad when one of the boys, Steven, he thought, suddenly started crying again.

"Sam, calm down, okay?" Troy replied, glaring at Sam as he stepped over to comfort Steven. "The kids are upset enough and they don't need you upsetting them more. Dean had some problems with his blood sugar last night. Steven here is a hero, he's the one who noticed it and got Dean help. Gray took him to the infirmary to keep a clos..." Troy trailed off as he realized that he was talking to Sam's back.

-------

Running all the way to the medical cabin, Sam stopped just before entering.

Was this his fault? He knew how bad stress affected Dean's blood sugar, his brother's diabetes had just come back, and his levels weren't stable. He was the one that had brought up all that stuff with Bobby and their dad. Could Dean handle knowing that Sam may be experiencing visions? He needed help. There was only one person he wanted that help from. Camp Sunshine was about to get a new employee, whether Gray and his boss liked it or not. He quickly dialled a familiar number.

_"Somebody better be dead for the phone to be ringing this early," a grumpy voice snapped on the other end of the line. _

Forgoing any pleasantries, Sam gave his order, sounding exactly like John Winchester. "Bobby, get your ass here now!"

TBC

Please make my day and read and review.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

A/N: I know I still owe a replies for this and other stories, and I promise I will get to them, soon, I hope. Just know that I still appreciate each and every one.

Thanks to Soar, JuliaAurelia and Sinead-Conlan. You all rock.

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize and I'm not making any money.

Dean had always valued being a big brother, right from the time his parents had told him that he was going to be one. While other kids at nursery school told him that babies were stinky, yucky, loud and no fun, Dean never felt that way. He had been excited for Sammy's arrival, and would ask his dad every day if Sammy was old enough to play with them yet after he had been born.

Now he was starting to think those kids had the right idea. Baby brothers were gigantic pains in the ass. Why had Sam called Bobby? The elder hunter had always been Dean's confidant, and the one place he could go to when he needed to shed the Dean Winchester hunter persona. That had all changed after that God-forsaken hunt. His father had warned him that visiting Sam wasn't a good idea, but no, he had to prove that he knew best, and after a disastrous weekend, he had to go try to hunt. He was distracted and he knew it, but once again, he had to prove what a macho man he was, and his dad had paid the price, and so had his relationship with Bobby.

God, sometimes he missed the man so much it hurt. Why the hell did Sam have to go and call him anyway? It was none of his damn business. Then, telling Dean that Bobby wanted to talk to him. Call and yell at him maybe. After all, Dean had given the amulet away.

The amulet that Bobby had risked his home, his business and his very life for, and Dean had given it away with barely a second thought. He guessed that was part of the reason why he was so reluctant to call Bobby. He didn't want to admit what he had done. He wasn't sure how Bobby would react.

He honestly wasn't sure how he felt about it either. The amulet was in the place where it was doing the most good, and he didn't regret giving Zack a chance at a better life, but he would be lying to himself if he said he was 100% okay with it.

Because having diabetes just sucked.

Sure, he knew the consequences when he made the decision. He knew it meant injections and blood sugar testing, controlling his diet and all the other crap that went with it, but knowing it and experiencing it were two totally different things.

He had made his decision, and he wouldn't change it, but that didn't mean he had to like it.

------

He had been seriously tempted to ignore Gray's orders about stopping by the mess hall, as eating was the last thing he wanted to do, but contrary to what some people might think, he didn't have a death wish. He managed to choke down what he hoped was a reasonable amount of food and headed back to his cabin.

He was a little touched about the concern everyone showed for him. His campers crowded around and kept asking if he was okay. Troy took Gray's instructions seriously and wouldn't let Dean do much of anything, and Dean had to admit it was kind of nice to have someone look after him for a change. They spent the evening playing board games and cards. Dean taught the kids how to play poker, and then they told ghost stories.

Overall, Dean had to admit that it wasn't a bad way to spend an evening. At least it got his mind off his troubles, if only for a short while.

That evening, when the group went to the medical cabin for blood tests and injections, Dean accepted the needle from the evening nurse and took his medication, but tried to skip out on getting his blood sugar checked. He couldn't quite convince himself though, that Gray showing up at that exact moment was a coincidence, especially since the physician insisted on testing Dean himself.

"I was a good boy," Dean said with a touch of exasperation in his voice. "Nurse Laura gave me my needle and I took it."

"Yeah, and then promptly tried to skip the most important part. Knowing your blood sugar level is essential, especially in the first few days of treatment."

"Spare me the lecture, alright," Dean snapped.

"No. You're going to take care of yourself, even if I have to tie you down to make it happen."

"Can we just get this over with?"

"Someone's grouchy."

"Shut up."

"I'm not sure if we should chalk that up to low blood sugar, or your award winning personality," Gray joked.

Dean was not in the mood for this, but he knew that Gray was doing this because he cared about him. He held up his hand with this middle finger raised. "What's the verdict?" he asked hoping his tone was light.

Gray placed the lancing device on Dean's finger and pressed the plunger to draw blood. "We're hoping to get some of those new meters that allow you to test on your arm. It's less painful than doing it on your fingers," Gray said trying to make conversation.

"Call me when mine comes in," Dean quipped.

"Your sugar is a little lower than I'd like it to be. You said that when you were first diagnosed, you had problems with hypos."

"I told you that, like, a million years ago," Dean said in disbelief.

"I would feel more comfort..."

"I said no," Dean huffed. "I'll eat before I go to bed. Are we done here?" Dean didn't wait for an answer. He just herded his campers out the door.

They made a trip to the mess hall for evening snacks, and then they went back the cabin and got the kids ready for bed. Dean lay down on his cot with a Kurt Vonnegut book and tried to relax.

The problem was that he couldn't sleep. His mind was on overdrive. He was feeling guilty about his earlier thoughts, and for snapping at Gray. He was also wondering how this whole insulin thing was going to work out.

It was expensive. Right now, he didn't have to worry because everything he needed was in the medical cabin, but what about after this job was finished? Gray had promised that he would make sure Dean's medical needs were covered. He had even said that he would pay for it. Dean was grateful, but he still wasn't sure how this was going to work. What if he was in California? Could Gray call a prescription into an out of state pharmacy? Even though it was irrational, it had been driven into his head since he was four that Winchesters didn't take charity, having Gray pay for his meds was hurting that stubborn Winchester pride.

The biggest obstacle, however, was the unknown. What if Gray had to disappear because a threat to his family came up? He'd be on his own for his supplies, and just how the hell was he going to afford that? Some days he barely had enough money to put gas in the car. There had been dozens of times when Dean had slept in the impala because he didn't have the funds for a hotel room.

Sam had often accused him of acting without thinking, and it appears he was right. There were complications he had never even thought of when he put that amulet around Zack's neck, but Gray had said that Zack was getting to be a kid, and that made it all worth it, right?

It was during these musings that he got a text from Sam. He waited a sufficient amount of time, just enough to get Sam wondering if he would answer, and then sent back a reply. He was glad when Sam didn't send one back.

Knowing that he wasn't going to come up with any answers tonight, Dean rolled over and went to sleep.

-----

_I knew I shouldn't have drunk that extra glass of soda, Steven thought when he woke that night, really needing to use the washroom. _

Zeppelin Cabin's designated hitter had come a long way since that first day. When Steven had been first diagnosed, he was too scared to participate in anything as he was too afraid of hypos, and his parents didn't help any. They were more scared than he was. He was even giving himself his own injections now. Dean had told him it was okay to be scared, and that he had been too the first time he had done it.

Steven crawled out of his sleeping bag, grabbed his robe and his shoes, and went to go wake up the commander. It was a cabin rule that no one was allowed out by themselves after dark. It was something that Dean insisted on. Secretly, Steven was glad that the rule existed because he was a little nervous about being outside by himself.

"Commander," Steven called softly as he parted the curtain that separated Dean's bunk from the rest of the cabin. "I have to go visit Timberlake." The young boy could never figure out why Dean got such a kick out their name for the outhouse. He had been told he would understand when he got older.

Steven frowned when he got no response. Dean was usually such a light sleeper. "Commander," he called again, a little louder. There was still no answer.

Knowing that Dean'd had some problems with his blood sugar earlier, Steven was just going to let him sleep, but a low moan caught his attention.

"Daaad, nooo, S'mmy, mmmoom."

"Commander," Steven said hesitantly. Dean seemed to be having some type of nightmare.

"Nooo, S'mmy," Dean mumbled under his breath.

Getting really scared, Steven stepped up to Dean's bed. He reached out and tentatively put a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Commander," he said once more, this time lightly shaking Dean's shoulder. He felt his heart start thundering in his chest when he could feel that Dean's skin was damp with sweat. It was a hot night, so that could explain the sweat, but Dean was also shivering. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He had to do something.

_**"TROY!" **_Steven yelled as he backed up, stumbling, almost tripping over the curtain. _**"TROY!" **_

The whole cabin was woken by Steven's frantic calls. "What's wrong?" Troy said instantly alert. He scrambled out of bed and knelt beside the distraught boy.

"It's the commander. He won… he won... he's..." Steven started crying hard.

"What's wrong?" "What's happening?" The other boys all called out in confusion.

"It's okay, little man," Troy said trying to comfort Steven. "Take a deep breath. Are you okay?"

"Yeeaahh," Steven nodded shakily. "Dean... he... won't... Dean."

"Something's wrong with Dean?" Troy inquired. Steven nodded.

"Trevor, Xavier, run to the medical cabin and get whoever's on duty." They didn't need to be told twice.

Troy turned the overhead light on, walked over to Dean's area and pulled the curtain back. One look at Dean and he knew immediately what was happening.

"Is the commander alright?" Robert asked worriedly.

"He'll be fine," Troy reassured him. _I hope. _"I need you guys to be brave, okay?" Troy ran back to his bunk and grabbed his keys. Each cabin was equipped with a glucose meter, test strips and glucose shots in case of emergencies. Getting what he needed, he quickly went back to Dean's side and pulled the curtain closed behind him for a little privacy. He reached and took a sweat covered arm, and was just about to prick the top of his finger when Dean's words stopped him.

"Nnnnooo, burns, don't, dddaaddd."

Troy really didn't like the sound of that, but it could just be a reaction. He filed it away and decided he would ask Dean about it at a more appropriate time. A quick check revealed Dean's blood sugar to be 68. Way too low. Grabbing the glucose syringe, Troy drove it into Dean's thigh and pushed the plunger.

--------

"Dean, hey Dean, you with us?" Troy asked in concern.

"What... What's up?" Dean asked his tone full of confusion. "Are the kids okay?" He added sitting up quickly. That was a big mistake and the room started spinning.

"Whoa, hold up. Lie down," Troy said putting pressure on Dean's chest to make him lie back down.

The vertigo was really making him nauseous. He tried to sit up again, as he was going to hurl.

"Damn it, lie down," Troy said.

"I..." Dean paused. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, everything in his stomach was going to come up. He tried to sit up again so that he could get to a garbage can. He was about to make a mess. "Up." _Short and sweet. _

"When the doctor gets here," Troy insisted.

"Now!" He frantically pointed to the can next to his bed.

"Here," Troy said as he finally clued in and grabbed the can and held it up to Dean just in time. "You okay?" he asked again.

"Yeah," Dean mumbled after he had lost everything in his stomach. "What happened?"

"You were in the middle of a hypo. It's a good thing Steven found you. I had to give you a glucose shot."

"That explains the nausea. Damn things make me puke every time."

"Don't you think it would have been helpful to inform us of that?" Troy asked. "I remember the first day of camp when you said it was a rule not to hide anything."

Dean shrugged. It had been a moot point at that time. "I didn't think it was that big a deal."

"Not that big a deal?" Troy asked incredulously. "Like not paying attention to your symptoms? Gray said that your pump had been malfunctioning for the last few days."

"I..."

Before Dean could say anything else, the curtain was parted and Dean looked up. Dr. Manning, one of the other camp doctors, was standing there. He was a bit relieved not to see Gray because he really wasn't in the mood for a lecture. That relief was short lived.

"I'm going to give you a quick exam and then you're going to the medical cabin for the night. No arguments," Dr. Manning ordered when it looked like Dean was about to protest.

"Fine," Dean huffed sounding like a chastised 3 year old. "Just let me talk to Steven for a minute."

"3 minutes," Dr. Manning compromised.

Dean got up and shakily went out and gathered the kids, where he praised Steven's actions and apologized for scaring them, and told them the doctors wanted to keep a close eye on him and he would be back in the morning.

--------

"Would it be wrong to say 'I told you so'?" Gray quipped as he walked into the infirmary.

"Yes, because..."

"So help me, Dean, if you tell me that you don't need to be here, I'm dragging your ass to the hospital and telling them to put you in 4 point restraints."

"Why are you here?" Dean asked, ignoring Gray's remark.

"Because my best friend makes an incredible sacrifice and then pretends he doesn't need any help."

"Gray," Dean said and started fidgeting. This made him incredibly uncomfortable.

"Fine. You're a stubborn idiot who wouldn't know what's good for him if it bit him in the ass. I thought I told you to eat something."

"I did," Dean protested. "I guess it wasn't enough."

"Would there be a way to get your old medical records?" Gray asked. He didn't trust Dean to give him the whole story anymore.

"I don't know. They might still be at Watertown General, but I was diagnosed in another state."

"You might be taking too much insulin," Gray mused out loud.

"I..." Dean broke off. Gray was going to be seriously irritated at what Dean had to tell him.

"What?" Gray said, a touch of that irritation sneaking through.

"When I was first diagnosed, I had problems with low blood sugar in the morning. It took a while to get it regulated."

Gray had been tempted to yell at Dean for withholding that information, but he held his tongue. What was the point? "I would still like to take a look at your old medical records. Maybe Bobby cou..."

"No," Dean cut him off sharply. "I'll see if I can find them."

"What is it with you and..."

"Just leave it alone, okay?"

Despite the anger in Dean's tone, Gray could hear a pleading note in his voice. He wondered if Bobby knew that Dean had given up his amulet. He knew full well that Bobby had almost given his life to retrieve it. "Okay, but you're my prisoner for the rest of today and tomorrow. No arguments or I'll do something drastic."

"What's that? Tie me down. Does Kim know you swing that way?"

"Smartass. No, even worse. I'll send Sam in to nag you."

Before Dean could even say anything, Sam burst in demanding to know if his brother was okay. Sam couldn't figure out why they started laughing at him. Gray assured him that everything was fine and that he was keeping a close eye Dean. Then he sent Sam back to his cabin with a promise that he would find him immediately if anything went wrong.

--------

_You're a fool, you know that, Singer. You're a damn, stupid fool. _

He wanted his day back. The whole wasted day he had spent by the phone, waiting for the stupid thing to ring. He had an extension in the garage, but it was noisy out there and he was worried that he might miss the phone if it rang. If it was Dean and no one answered, he wouldn't call back.

But it turned out not to matter anyway. Dean hadn't called and it appeared that he wasn't going to. He wasn't sure why he had expected anything different. If Dean thought Bobby was mad at him, he'd just accept that he must have done something to deserve it.

In truth, Bobby was mad. Furious. He just wasn't sure who he was angrier at. Dean or John.

The mechanic had wanted to pump John Winchester full of lead that night, and the feelings hadn't lessoned in the year and a half that had gone by. Yes, Dean had made a mistake, but John had acted like he had done it on purpose. Like that idjit had never made a mistake of his own.

Then there was idjit junior. Bobby knew his anger at Dean wasn't rational. John had conditioned him since he was four years old. Still, he was a grown man now, and just once, Bobby wanted the kid to realize that his old man had been wrong.

He knew from experience that it wouldn't happen.

-------

_**1997**_

The invitation for the graduation ceremony had come in the mail, and Bobby had wasted no time in packing and grabbing a plane for Blacksburg, Virginia.

John had been MIA for almost a year. He kept in touch when he could, but the law had been on his tail after a hunt gone bad, and Bobby missed his adopted family.

He sat next to Sam and watched the young man he considered a son walk across the stage and collect his diploma, as well as a special achievement award in the sciences.

As proud as he was, he couldn't think of a time when he was more irate. Not at Dean, no, at the fact that John Winchester was nowhere to be seen.

Bobby had arrived in Virginia and had found the two younger Winchesters by themselves in a motel room. Dean had explained that their father was talking care of something, but had promised to be back in time for the ceremony.

He wanted to find that moron and haul his ass back, but ever the faithful son, Dean had said no.

The look on the Dean's face as he accepted his diploma and looked over at that the empty seat next to his younger brother would have been enough to melt the heart of The Grinch. To anyone who didn't know him, they would have missed it as a second later, his features hardened and he accepted his diploma and took his seat with the rest of his graduating class.

"So, you guys doing anything special?" Bobby asked casually as they drove back to the motel afterward. "The day of my graduation we had a big beach party. I'm sure it was a night to remember, if I actually could."

Dean just shrugged. "I'm just glad I'm done."

"You don't want a night out with your friends? You deserve it, kid."

"No. I just want to go home. I want to start looking for a hunt. Dad said as a graduation gift I could lead one."

"Which means we're leaving again," Sam huffed from the back seat.

"Sam, don't start," Bobby snapped.

"Sorry," he said sincerely. He hadn't meant to snap. He knew Dean was hurting.

Dean shrugged again. "It's no big deal. It's not like I ever cared about school. It's just a stupid piece of paper. I got more important things to do."

"Dean..."

"Drop it, okay?" Dean requested.

-------

Saying that things were tense back at the motel was an understatement. Dean grabbed the Impala's keys and disappeared, and every fibre of Sam radiated anger. Every move he made was done with exaggerated force. Not that Bobby blamed him. He wasn't in the most jovial mood himself. So when the door opened an hour later and John Winchester entered, Bobby almost exploded.

_**"WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?" **_Bobby thundered as a greeting.

John, for his part, at least had the good grace to look ashamed, but he didn't take getting yelled at kindly, it automatically put him on the defensive. "I got held up. It couldn't be helped," he defended himself.

"Couldn't be helped?" Bobby scoffed in disbelief.

"I had to take out the..."

"No, what you had to do was be there to see your son graduate. It only happens once. Whatever the hell you were hunting, there would be others to take care of it."

"Dad, you know Dean was counting on you," Sam accused.

"This is none of your concern, Sam."

"It is too," the younger Winchester protested.

"It is," Bobby insisted sticking up for Sam.

"So what you're both saying is that I should have left in the middle of a hunt? This is none of your concern either, Singer."

"The hell it isn't," Bobby fired back. He grabbed his pant legs with both arms in an effort to keep from decking the man in front of him. "You're the one that sent me the invitation. I'd ask what the hell you were thinking about taking a hunt in the first place, but it's obvious you weren't."

"That Cu Sith was going after children, Bobby, I couldn't sit back and let them get hurt."

"So you're willing to hurt your own kid?"

"Stop it, all of you," a new voice broke in. Sam, John and Bobby looked up to find Dean entering the room. He was carrying a two-four, and Bobby figured he was planning his own private party. With the amulet, it took about 3 times the amount of alcohol to get him drunk, and Bobby guessed that if John hadn't come home, Dean had been planning on getting himself completely wasted. He just stuck the beer in the fridge and turned toward the other three. "I told dad to take the hunt. I knew he may not be back in time."

"It's still no excuse," Sam added not wanting to let the argument go.

"Sam, drop it," Dean said attempting to stop this argument before it started.

"Dean, I'm so sorry," John said sincerely.

"It's okay, dad," Dean said as he laid his hand on John's shoulder. "The ceremony was lame anyway. It was just a bunch of boring speeches, and don't even get me started on that the stupid cap and gown. I wanted to skip it remember?"

"But Dean..." Sam protested.

"Dad feels bad enough, Sammy. Let it go, okay?" Dean said firmly, but there was a pleading note in his voice. "Besides, it's my day and there's a movie playing at the cineplex I want to see. Can we go, dad?"

Bobby could see it. A slow flush crept up John's cheek alerting Bobby to the fact that John had no money. He must have used it all on gas. His truck was almost as expensive as the Impala to fuel. He glared at John, hoping that for once he would throw his pride out the window.

John caught on to what Bobby was offering. "Sure, what movie are we going to see?" he said wisely.

------

No one really enjoyed themselves that night. Bobby knew that Dean had chosen to go to the movies so they wouldn't have to interact with each other, Sam and Bobby were still furious that John didn't get home in time, and John was feeling guilty.

After the movie was over, Dean disappeared again. Sam and John, who weren't speaking, headed back to their motel room, and Bobby went to his, but kept watch for Dean instead.

It was late before Dean drove the Impala back into the lot. Bobby glanced out of his window as he saw Dean get out of the car and take a seat on the hood of the Impala. He knew he should give Dean his space, but he couldn't leave him out there by himself.

"Dean, everything okay, son?" Bobby asked gently trying not to startle him.

Quickly swiping at his face, Dean turned and faced his adopted uncle. "Hey, Bobby."

The moonlight hit the tear tracks on Dean's face as if it were a spotlight. It just made Bobby mad all over again, but he forced himself to bury his anger. This wasn't about John. "I thought you might be thirsty," Bobby said offering the young man a beer. He had to ignore what he saw, or Dean was going to bolt faster than lightening could strike.

"Sure thanks," Dean said accepting the cold brown bottle. He swiped at his face again, trying to hide the evidence.

"I'm proud of you, son," Bobby offered, the words he knew John was feeling, but had trouble saying. "Graduating high school is a big accomplishment."

"No biggie," Dean said non-chalantly, but Bobby could see that the words pleased him. "I'm just glad I'm done."

"What are your plans?" Bobby inquired. He knew he was about to bring up a touchy subject.

"I told you. Dad said I could lead a hunt. I'm hoping to find a demon in South Beach or Daytona."

"What about after the summer?"

"We'll settle down somewhere for Sammy to start school."

"Any thoughts to college?"

"You're kidding right?" Dean scoffed. "Do you know how many calls I didn't tell dad about, or letters from guidance counsellors that I burned? I can't go to college. Dad and Sammy..."

"You have a right to live your life, Dean..."

"No," Dean cut him off sharply. "I get enough of that from Sammy."

"It still doesn't change the fact. If it's a matter of money, I could..."

"Thanks for the offer, but I know what you did. This thing didn't come cheap," Dean said, his voice full of sincere gratitude as he fingered his amulet. "You've done enough and besides, what would I take. Hunting's the only thing I'm good at."

"You know that's not true," Bobby said trying not to sound frustrated. "Remember that visit you got from the forensic math guy?" Bobby asked tentatively. That was another sticky area. "It was something that interested you. You got that science award tonight. You can still help people, just in a different way. You can give someone justice. But no matter what, you can succeed at whatever you put your mind too."

"That would be too late," Dean mumbled under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Forensics. It's about catching the bad guy after the crime's been committed. It's too late. Even if I catch the guy someone else's...." He stopped abruptly.

"Someone else's what, Dean?" Bobby prompted.

"Nothing," the younger man deflected. "Any more beer?"

"Come on, Dean," Bobby encouraged.

"It means someone else's mom doesn't come home, okay?" Dean said defensively. He tried to slide off the car, but Bobby laid his arm over Dean's shoulders to stop him.

"Don't, Bobby," Dean said. He so didn't want a chick flick moment. Of course, Bobby was not easily deterred.

"I want you to listen for a moment," Bobby suggested gently. "His name was going to be Nathan."

"Your son?" Dean asked. When Bobby had gotten the amulet for him, he had told Dean that his pregnant wife was attacked by a junkie, resulting in a miscarriage, which left her predisposed to demonic possession.

"Yeah. I get why you want to hunt, Dean, I really do. I wish there had been someone there to prevent her from getting attacked. That night, there was a cop a few blocks away who had pulled over a drunk driver before he could get into an accident and hurt someone. I was bitter and angry for years that he wasn't there to protect Nathan and Anna, but you know what was worse? They never got the guy that attacked her. She couldn't identify her attacker and there was no physical evidence. You can't save everyone, but giving a victim's family closure can be just as important. Not to mention the fact that you can prevent whoever did it from hurting anyone else."

"What about dad and Sammy, they need me," Dean said softly.

"You and your brother would be welcome to live with me, you know that. Your father can hunt and stop by on his way through and you guys can join him on school breaks."

"I... I..." Dean trailed off. "I thought about college a lot, you know. Sometimes I thought I would like to go. Study math or engineering, but... well you know."

"I do," Bobby sympathized. "I'm not trying to pressure you, son. I just want you to know that you have options."

"Thanks, Bobby. I'll think about it, and I'm sorry about your son."

Bobby knew that was the best he would get, and that Dean had already made up his mind. He knew it was time to change the subject, Dean wasn't going to sit still much longer.

"Thanks. Now, I don't know of any demons in Florida, but I heard rumors about a black dog on a beach in California."

Before he could say anything else, he found himself wrapped in Dean's arms. The hug surprised him, but he only hesitated a fraction of a second before he returned it.

-----------

_**Present**_

Bobby knew that Dean was set in John Winchester's ways. That wasn't going to change anytime soon, and if he wanted his family back, he was going to have to make the first move, whether it was right or wrong.

He made up his mind that he was going to call Dean in the morning.

Having made up his mind, he went to bed, and was rudely interrupted from a deep sleep by the phone ringing at an ungodly hour. When Sam snapped at him that he needed to get there, he didn't even hesitate, just threw some clothes in a suitcase and booked a flight.

Even under the circumstances, he couldn't wait to see his boys.

A/N: I know there wasn't much Sam and Dean interaction in this one but I promise some will be coming soon and the action will pick up in the next chapter as well. Please read and review, and make my day.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

A/N:

I actually have an update for you all. Sorry this took so long. I don't really have an excuse, other than school and real life. Thanks for sticking with me.

If you reviewed and I never go the chance to answer, I'm sorry. I appreciate everyone.

----

There was nothing Dean Winchester hated more than being treated like an invalid, and this was the beginning of the second day that he was stuck in the infirmary.

He knew that Gray and Sam meant well, he did, but he never did well with too much time on his hands and there was nothing to do here. His friend didn't make him lay in bed all day, but he wasn't allowed to go further than the front porch. He threatened to just leave, but Gray had the upper hand and told him that he would suspend him from all official duties, because he needed to make sure the kids were safe. That had seriously pissed him off, that Gray would do that do him. He'd never put the kids in danger.

So if he wanted to keep his job, he had to be a good little boy. He stayed put, ate the meals Gray bought and took his injections, all six of them.

Yes, six. Gray felt that Dean would do better if he spread his injections out more throughout the day. Apparently, it was supposed to give him greater flexibility with when, how much and what he ate. Treatments sure had changed since he was 16, and he almost wished he could go back to that, but what could he do?

His campers came by to visit him frequently, and Dean did appreciate that. Jill, the counsellor for the 10 year old girls, came by to see him as well. She seemed quite concerned about his welfare, and Dean had had a few suggestions on how she could make him feel better. It had worked when she slipped him a copy of her schedule of off days. So it did give Dean something to look forward to, if he ever got out of here.

He was leaving tomorrow though. He didn't care if he got fired, enough was enough, because if he didn't get something else to focus on, he was going to hit someone, and most likely that person's name began with an S. Ever since he'd had that argument with Sammy, his mind kept drifting to a certain name on his cell phone.

Bobby.

_Damn it! _He was going to kill Sammy. Why the hell couldn't he have just left it alone? Dean had convinced himself that it was for the best, but there were so many times he had wanted to call, especially after his dad had started ditching him. There were cold, lonely nights in the Impala, when he had no money for a hotel room, that he had just wanted to drive to Bobby's and sleep in a warm, soft bed, and eat a meal that hadn't been nuked in a convenience store microwave. Mostly, he missed that Bobby could always make him feel important and needed, even if his own family didn't feel that way.

He wasn't used to feeling this insecure and he didn't like it, but the whole diabetes thing was playing on his mind. He knew how hard it had been to regulate when he was 16, but now it was a whole different ballgame. He couldn't stay in one spot and he had a ghost to put down. How the hell was he going to do that when he couldn't even sleep through the night without a problem?

No matter what, Bobby had always made him feel that everything would be okay. He wished desperately that he could hear his voice. _God, just how sad and pathetic was he?_

"Hey, boy"

Great, he had wanted to hear Bobby's voice so badly he had convinced himself he was. Maybe he should just ask Gray to transfer his ass to the nearest psych ward. He clearly needed it.

"Dean," the voice said again, this time more forceful.

Reluctantly, Dean turned his head toward the door, and was startled to see a man that looked just like Bobby standing in the doorway, right down to the greasy trucker hat and beard. He had really lost it now. The hallucinations were starting.

"You just gonna stare, or are you gonna say hello, ya idjit," Bobby grunted, his tone full of affection.

"Bobby," Dean said hesitantly. So now he was talking to said hallucination.

"Yeah, it's good to see you." Bobby took a few tentative steps toward his wayward nephew. He was still unsure of how he would be received.

"You too," Dean replied genuinely, a huge Crest commercial grin suddenly adorned his face, as he allowed himself to believe that Bobby was really standing there.

Bobby was just glad that Dean hadn't told him to get lost. The whole way here, he had planned what he was going to say to the young man. He had this whole big speech planned, with how sorry he was about the miscommunication, and how proud he was about what Dean had done, but all that flew out of his head the minute he sat on the edge of the cot were Dean was lying. The next thing he knew, they had both reached out and wrapped their arms around the other.

Okay, Dean decided that maybe he would let Sam live, but he still owned him a serious beat down.

* * *

When they let go, neither man said anything, for which both was grateful, but Dean did have one thing he needed to address.

"Bobby, about the amulet..."

That was as far as Bobby would let him get. "I didn't get upset when you declined to wear it when I first got it for you, so I would never be mad for what you did with it now. It's yours to do with as you see fit. That's all we're going to say about it." He dropped the part about how proud he was of what Dean had done; because he had a feeling the young man was sick of hearing it.

"Thanks Bobby," Dean said sincerely.

"Now, I believe we have a ghost to get rid of," Bobby said, effectively changing the subject.

"We should wait for Sam. He's got a break in an hour. He got access to Gray's computer last night, so I think he has some stuff as well."

"Okay," Bobby agreed. "Where's Gray?" Bobby asked. It had been years since he had seen the young man.

"He'll be here shortly. It's almost time for my insulin shot."

"It'll be good to see him," Bobby admitted and Dean couldn't help the small flair of jealously that welled up in him. _Yup, pathetic didn't even begin to describe him. _

Bobby went to put his notes on the little table by Dean's cot. "What's this?" he asked curiously, holding up a bunch of papers.

"Nothing," Dean said, suddenly embarrassed. A red flush started climbing up his cheeks as he tried to grab the papers out of his friend's hand. If Bobby realized what they were, he would never hear the end of it.

The statement 'I must not hide symptoms' was scrawled over and over in Dean's neat handwriting. "Are you writing lines?" Bobby asked incredulously.

"Gimme," Dean said and made a grab for them. "It's a cabin rule, okay," he huffed. "I make my campers do it, if I catch them. They insisted that it was only fair that I did it too."

Bobby couldn't hide his laughter.

The hilarity was short-lived however, because Dr. Manning, who had been at the desk, took a phone call, and then all of a sudden he grabbed his med-kit and took off out the door.

Bobby and Dean's eyes met, and both had an uneasy feeling. Was it the ghost or just an accident? Neither would have laid money on it being a simple accident. "The Ghost," they said in unison.

As worried as he was about the return of Dean's diabetes, the mechanic knew they both needed to check this out. He handed Dean his shoes and both of them took off a few minutes after the doctor.

* * *

Gray wished that he could say that he had been having a good day, but that would be a lie. Patrick had started to assign more and more administrative duties to him. While he understood that it had to be done, he missed spending time with the campers.

Then there was the ongoing problem that he and Kim faced over Zack's health. He was perfectly healthy, sure, but that was the problem. People were starting to notice.

They couldn't send Zack to his previous daycare. How did they explain to the teacher that he didn't need handfuls of enzyme pills to digest his food anymore, or why his percussion therapy was no longer needed? The five year old had pitched a fit because he didn't want to leave his friends.

How long were their close friends and family, who were all commenting on just how well Zack was doing, going to buy 'he's having a really good day?'

What about Zack's check up next week? What were they going to tell the doctor when he discovered that his boy's lungs were completely clear?

_**KNOCK KNOCK**_

Grateful for the break from his thoughts and paperwork, Gray looked up to find Sam standing in his office. "Bad time?" Sam inquired.

"No, perfect timing actually," Gray said as he pushed everything to the side. "There was something I need to talk to you about."

"Dean's okay, isn't he?" Sam asked worriedly.

"He's doing okay. His numbers are still a little sporadic, but nothing outside of what you would expect in a new diabetic, which is how I'm treating him."

"How long are you keeping him?" Sam wondered. He knew how much Dean hated being cooped up.

"Not much longer. I'm letting him go after supper tonight. I'm sure he's been there long enough to learn his lesson. Besides, we have the big camp bonfire tonight and I want to use it as blackmail to get him to play guitar for us tonight."

"Dean doesn't play guitar," Sam said in confusion.

"Didn't he learn on that job you guys did? Where was it again...?" Gray paused trying to think of the place. Dean had spent part of the last couple of days telling him about some of the jobs he, Sam and their dad had done. "Nashville. Ghost or something at the Grand Ole Opry."

"It must have been when I was at Stanford." Sam wanted details about that one, but unfortunately now wasn't the time. Bobby had called him and had said that he had gotten in, so Sam figured he had gone straight to the medical cabin, and Gray needed to know. "You said you had something to talk to me about?"

That was when Gray filled him in on everything that had been going on with Zack, but Sam really didn't have too much advice for him, other than moving and starting over in a town where no one knew them. Gray didn't want to and he knew Kim didn't either. They had their friends and family and their professional reputations, and it would be tough to start over, but neither could see any other option.

"There's something else, I was wondering if I could ask you, Sam. It's kind of personal but..."

"It's okay. With what we told you over the last few days, I don't think anything's personal anymore."

"This might be, and I know that I have no right to ask…"

'You're starting to worry me," Sam said honestly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Gray said apologetically. He wasn't really sure how to phrase his question, though. "Well, the other night, Dean was having a nightmare, and he mentioned a couple of troubling things. I know that his sugar levels could have had something to do with that, but I trust my instincts and I think it was more. Then there was that time you guys were leaving South Dakota, and Dean had that bruise on his cheek. He said something fell on him, but I know what an injury from a fist looks like and..."

"Gray," Sam said holding up his hand to stop him. "Thanks for looking out for Dean. God knows he doesn't. No, dad never hit us," Sam confirmed. "Except for that one time. Dad was hard on us, but no, I promise he wasn't physically abusive."

"I noticed you said physically," Gray pointed out.

Sam felt himself getting defensive, even though he knew that Gray wasn't just being nosy. He genuinely cared about both of them, but his father was a touchy subject. "What's this, psych 101? Let it go. Dad loved us." Sam could admit that.

"I..." That was as far as Gray got when the one of his staff ran past him, telling him they needed him at the stables immediately as there had been an accident.

---------------

Chaos.

It was the only way to describe the scene before them. Adults were trying to calm frightened children. One little boy was holding his arm and hollering in pain, and if Gray had to guess, he would say it was dislocated. Another counsellor was carrying a little girl, whose ankle looked swollen and was probably broken. Another was tending to several kids with cuts and bruises.

There didn't seem to be any critical injuries, but by far the worst problem was the horse. The harness had broken when the wagon tipped over and the Bay was running wild and frightened. The stable hands were trying to catch the wayward animal, but they didn't seem to be having much luck.

Sam and Gray were a little worried when they saw Dean and Bobby approach, but neither could really question it. They needed all the help they could get.

"I'll go help with the horse," Dean tried to offer.

"No way," Sam said firmly. "You're better at first aid then me. I'll go. Jess was a big horse girl, I, um, have a bit of experience." It was a lie. Sam had no experience, but felt it would be better if Dean wasn't running around. He took off before anyone could stop him.

"Sammy," Dean called to his brother's back.

"Dean, I need you here," Gray said firmly with a restraining hand on Dean's arm. "Get all the kids into the tack room and take a head count, we need to make sure they are all accounted for."

The young hunter knew this wasn't a time to worry that he was being given an easy job. The kids were more important than his pride. He got right to work.

Dean realized just how lucky they were, when he was talking with Jill, who had been on scene when things had gone down. The group had returned from a hayride, and a counsellor was helping the kids out of the wagon when the horse, who Jill described as being "bomb proof", which meant that a bomb could go off next to the animal and it wouldn't blink an eye, had suddenly spooked at nothing. He had reared up and bolted, knocking the wagon and breaking the harness. There had only been two kids left in the wagon, the ones with the shoulder and ankle injury. Jill had a gash on her forehead that looked like it would need stitches, but she hadn't lost consciousness.

As they worked to keep the kids calm, Dean questioned Jill further. He knew that animals and children were sensitive to spirits and it would explain why the horse had spooked.

"Can weather cause the horse to bolt?" Dean asked. "If there was a strong breeze or something got knocked over and caused a loud noise?"

"Some horses are skittish," Jill admitted. "It was cold, but I didn't really feel a breeze and Oscar is about as calm as they come. Even the rocks falling didn't bother him."

"Rocks?" Dean questioned. It was looking more and more like the ghost was responsible. He had to talk to Sam and they needed to put that bitch down. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt.

"Yeah, we were out at the South Field and I heard something like two rocks being rubbed together. I know there's a rock wall not far from the trail. It's off limits to the campers and staff because sometimes rocks just let go."

Scratches and cold spots were signs of a malevolent spirit. All the pieces fit. Where was Sam? Dean was more worried than ever because instinct was telling him they were all still in danger. He had learned to always trust his instinct.

But he couldn't leave right way. The kids still needed to be taken care of. They were all still upset. He would just have to trust Bobby to keep Sam safe. "I need your help," Dean said to all the kids. "If you have any aches or pains, line up with Jill. If you're just scared and worried about your friends and counsellors, line up with me." Dean was shocked when all 10 kids ran over to him. "Gray, um, Dr. Remington is taking care of all of them. Now, it helps to talk about what scared you. I want you guys to take turns telling me what you saw. I don't care if you think you imagined anything. Tell me everything."

It was the ninth child that gave Dean the information he was looking for. A little boy named Joe swore he saw a man approach the horse, but said he looked away and when he looked back, there was nothing there.

With the kids under control, Dean said he would be right back. He wanted to check on his brother. He stepped outside and things seemed much calmer. The little boy and girl had been taken to the hospital, and one of the other counsellors said they had the horse cornered in the pasture

Dean knew they were in trouble as soon as he stepped out of the cabin. It was a warm day but he felt the temperature drop. Then he saw the horse rear up and bolt again, with Sam directly in its path. Dean saw his brother fall and not get up.

"SSSAAMMMMYYY!" He took off at a dead run toward the pasture.

* * *

"Dean, would you please sit down before you fall down," Bobby insisted.

"What's taking so long? It shouldn't be taking this long," Dean huffed as he walked up to double doors they had taken Sam behind.

The last hour had been like a nightmare for Dean. In his haste to get to Sam, the horse had almost taken Dean out as well. They also needed to get Sam to safety, but one the first rules of scene management during an accident was not to move the victim.

Fortunately, Gray's wife turned up shortly afterward and was able to give the horse a tranquilizer. The ambulance quickly had an unconscious Sam on a backboard and left for the hospital. Bobby had had to physically restrain Dean from trying to get into the ambulance with Sam. Gray had gone instead. Bobby and he felt it was better for there to be a doctor to treat Sam.

"Gray didn't think Sam had a life threatening injury," Bobby tried to reassure the distraught man.

"But he doesn't know," Dean countered. "He could have internal injuries or bleeding. What if he has a brain injury? What if he..."

Bobby could see his adopted nephew getting more worked up with every word. He got up and quickly closed the gap between him and Dean. "Stop," he said firmly. "Sam's going to be fine. Don't borrow trouble. Now, come over here and sit down," he ordered.

"You're not my father," Dean snapped. "Where the hell is Gray?" He eyed the door again.

Bobby didn't need to be psychic to know that Dean was about 5 seconds away from breaking through it. "I know you're worried about Sam, I am too, but I trust Gray and I know you do too. He wouldn't lie to you, Dean," Bobby said switching tactics and making his voice gentle. It seemed to work as Dean pulled his eyes away from the door and looked at Bobby.

"I just got him back," Dean admitted softly.

"I know, kid," Bobby said sincerely. "But we..."

"Bobby, Dean, Sam's gonna be fine," a voice said joining the group. They looked up and saw Gray walking toward them.

"Oh, thank God," Dean said sagging with relief. He slumped into a chair, dropped his head into his hands and took a couple of deep breaths, as if trying to gather his strength. His head popped up. "I want to see him," Dean insisted.

"He's not awake..."

"You said he was okay!" Dean fired back without giving him a chance to finish.

"He is," Gray said firmly and sat down beside his friend. Dean didn't look too good. "Honestly, I think I'm more worried about you right now. You feel okay?"

Dean's answer was predictable. "I'm fine. Sam's the one you need to worry about."

"Sam's not diabetic. When was the last time you ate?" Gray also knew that Dean missed his insulin shot in the chaos.

"I don't know," Dean said impatiently. "This isn't about me. What about Sam?"

Gray sighed in frustration. He didn't want anything to happen to the man he considered a brother and so far, Dean had shown no signs that he was willing to take his illness seriously.

Bobby recognized Gray's emotions. He had them too, but ordering Dean when your name wasn't John Winchester often had the opposite effect. He laid a hand on Gray's shoulder. "Tell us about Sam, let Dean see him, and we'll go to the cafeteria. Okay?" he compromised.

"Alright," Gray agreed it was the best he was going to get, but he did have one more condition he was going to insist on. He looked around for a nurse. "Miranda, can you grab me a glucose meter, test strip and lancet please.

"Right away, Dr. Remington," Miranda said pleasantly and disappeared into the medication room.

"I'm not a kid. Stop treating me like one. I can make up my own God damned mind," Dean insisted. "I don't want my blood sugar checked. I'll check it when _**I'm**_ ready."

As much as Gray wanted to point out just how much Dean sounded like a kid, he refrained because it would only cause him to dig his heels in more. "Sam has a mild concussion and a broken ulna, the lower bone in his right arm. We need to take him to sur..."

"Why the hell does he need an operation?" Dean interrupted. "Where is my brother?"

"Dean, cal..."

"So help me, Bobby, if you tell me to calm down, I swear I will kick your ass."

"I'm telling you to calm down," Gray interjected authoritatively. "Listen, Dean. I get that you're worried about Sam." He reached out and laid a hand on Dean's arm. "This is a hospital and we have sick people here. Now, I told you Sam would be fine and I wouldn't lie about that. The reason for the surgery is that the ulna heals better when it's fused with a plate. It's a routine surgery."

"Here you go, Dr. Remington," Miranda said bringing the supplies Gray had asked for.

"Thanks," Gray said accepting them and passing them over to Dean. He knew better than to try and do if for his friend. "Here, you know what to do."

Dean accepted the stuff but made no move to use it. "After I see Sam."

"Fine," Gray snapped. There was not much point in arguing any more. "Go see Sam, but if you pass out in the hallway, I'm telling the staff to leave your ass there."

"You do that," Dean snapped back and got up from his chair. Neither Gray nor Bobby missed Dean's slight sway when he stood up, or the steadying hand that went to the wall as he walked toward the treatment area where Sam was.

"I don't remember him being like that," Gray said in frustration.

Bobby shrugged. "It's a different story when his dad's here. He's the one person Dean will listen to without argument."

"Maybe we should give Mr. Winchester a call. He needs to take care of himself. I don't want..."

"It's okay, son. I'll take him to the cafeteria. I'll throw him over my shoulder kicking and screaming if I have to. Does he need an injection?"

"Yeah. The dose would depend on what he eats. Have me paged when you get back, and I'll get it for him. Look after him, okay. Someone has to."

"You got it."

It was a half hour later and Bobby sat across the table from Dean. It had been a battle of wills the entire time. Dean had wanted to go up to the surgical floor and wait for Sam. At this point, even Bobby knew he on the verge of passing out. He put his foot down and literally dragged Dean to the cafeteria and then had to talk him out of eating only coffee and M&Ms. Right now, Dean was only picking at his clubhouse and fries.

Bobby's hand was in his pocket, fingering his cell phone and calculating the odds of getting a hold of John Winchester. He didn't think Gray's idea was a bad one.

-------------------

By the time Bobby got back to camp, he was exhausted. With Sam out of commission, Bobby had been dubbed a temporary counsellor.

He was seriously ready to throttle Dean. It has been one battle after another. Getting Dean to leave for the night had left Bobby contemplating homicide. Dean needed his rest, and he wasn't going to get it sitting next to Sam's bed. Fortunately, Sam had regained consciousness. He was groggy, and in some pain, but he assured Dean he would be fine and tried to get his brother to leave. Finally, Gray put his foot down. He told Dean that he either had to leave, or he was getting admitted, and he was going to the regular floor. He wasn't staying in Sam's room. Dean's response would have made John Winchester blush, but he eventually agreed to leave with Bobby. Gray tried convincing Dean to spend the night at the medical cabin, as he wasn't happy with Dean's numbers and at how little he had eaten. Dean put his foot down and threatened to quit.

It was Bobby who came up with the compromise. The CIT from Dean's cabin was moved to Sam's and Bobby would spend the night to keep a close eye on the stubborn Winchester.

Dean objected, of course, but the kids fell in love with Bobby, much to the elder hunter's chagrin, and wanted him to stay. Bobby sat back and watched Dean talk to the kids about the events of the last couple of days, and address all their fears. It struck him that Dean would have made a great father if circumstances were different.

* * *

When Bobby awoke the next morning, Dean was gone. He had left a note to say that he had gone to the hospital. He cursed himself, as he hadn't meant to fall asleep, but he had been travelling all day, and if he had to guess, he would lay money on the fact that Dean hadn't stopped at the medical cabin for his needle.

He didn't want to do it, because Dean was finally speaking to him after what felt like an eternity, but he couldn't let the idjit risk his health. Taking a deep breath he picked up the phone and dialled.

_This is John Winchester; I'm unavailable but if you need help, call my son Dean at 254-555-1536. He can help. _

At least he got the machine. "Pick up your phone, you son of a bitch," Bobby growled as a greeting. "It's Dean that needs your help." Yup, Dean was going to kill him.

* * *

The senior hunter took his campers to the arts and crafts cabin and said he would be back later to pick them up. He then went to the admin cabin looking for Gray. He had to talk to him.

"You okay?" He asked in concern when he found the young physician behind his desk. Gray looked dishevelled. His tie was askew; he had dark circles under his eyes, and looked like he hadn't slept all night.

"Fi..."

"Boy, don't even think of saying fine. Idjit!"

"Okay, everything's going to hell. How's that?"

"What's up?"

"Everything. I had two parents call and want to pull their kids out of camp. I have state inspectors calling, wanting a full background check on my staff. I hired two people that don't technically exist and it won't matter that Dean's the most popular counsellor here. If it comes out that I knew they lied on their applications, I will lose my job and most likely my medical license. I'll be dealing with lawsuits out my ass, and that will be the end of the camp. If, by some miracle, I can keep the camp from closing, I won't be here to help run it next year, because more and more people are starting to notice how healthy Zack is. Plus, he's only five. He doesn't quite understand the need not to take his necklace off, or not tell people his CF is all gone. Not only that, but I need to start making arrangements to sell our house and cabin, when neither Kim nor I really want to move, but we don't see any other choice."

"First, son, you need to calm down. What's this inspector's name? I'll take care of that. Don't worry."

"Aaron Moore. How are you..."

"Don't worry about that," Bobby assured him. "Everybody's got skeletons in their closet. It's just a matter of finding them. You did nothing wrong. Sam and Dean only want to help."

"Dean was here this morning. He took my lap top. He wants to go over some stuff with Sam and see if they can find the ghost. I can't believe I just said that."

"How was he?"

"I don't know," Gray admitted. "I was on the phone with the inspector. I also need to speak with Patrick. We have to decide if we are closing the camp early. I can't take any more chances with the kids. I'm worried about him, Bobby, but I don't have the time to stand watch over his shoulder 24/7," he added a little defensively.

"Calm down, kid. I know that you got a lot on your plate. I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Thanks Bobby," Gray said sincerely.

* * *

The next two days were tense for everyone. Sam was released from the hospital, but with one arm strapped to his chest, he couldn't resume full duties. Gray still wasn't happy with Dean's numbers, or the way he was looking after himself, and Dean soon found himself reduced to second in command in his cabin. He wasn't happy with his friend. Gray had hoped it would be a wakeup call of sorts, but it only served to make him dig his heels in harder. It was actually the kids in his cabin that dragged Dean for his injections and to meal times. It was getting to the point where Gray was ready to pull him off staff.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't spend all his time worrying about his friend, there were greater concerns with the camp itself. Most of the kids expressed their opinion that they didn't want to go home. This was the one place they had to be kids, and Gray could understand their reluctance to leave. It was why he had started the camp in the first place. There were only a few people that knew that Gray was a major financial contributor. He had wanted it that way because he wanted to work with the kids, not handle paperwork. _Yeah, that one worked out well. _The guy he hired to run the camp had hired him as backup.

The kids saw the incident as an accident. The parents saw too many accidents and 7 more parents had called him to say they would be picking up their children. He already had 8 cancellations for the next session. Normally, he dealt with people desperately wanting their children to get a spot. He really didn't want to lose the camp.

But no matter what, he was going to, because he had to leave the camp he had started. Zack was more important than anything, but leaving was harder than he thought.

Bobby Singer had been a godsend. The inspector went away, and Gray really didn't want to know how he had managed that one. He kept Sam busy, and he fussed at Dean about looking after himself.

* * *

"I think I have something," Sam said looking up from the computer screen. He looked up and couldn't help the smile that broke out on his face when he saw his brother. Dean was sound asleep on the couch with Zack sprawled on his chest, drooling on Dean's shirt. Sam pulled out his phone and snapped a picture. It was good blackmail material.

He and Dean were spending their evening at Gray's babysitting. Neither was sure how they had been roped into it, but Gray and his wife went out to dinner to just forget about their troubles for awhile. Or, Dean entertained Zack while Sam used the computer.

He didn't want to wake his brother, he needed the rest, but he had no choice. They needed to take care of this ghost. If Sam was right, they were only a few days away from another incident. He decided that he would call Bobby and ask him to come over. He would let Dean sleep until Gray got home, but he needed to eat something and it was time for his needle. Sam wanted to get this particular battle over with.

"Dean, time to get up, man," Sam said softly, so he wouldn't wake Zack.

"What?" Dean asked in slight confusion. "Time izz it?"

"9:00. You need your in..."

"I just got up," Dean huffed defensively. It seemed every time he turned around, someone was in his face telling him to take a needle or eat. He was getting sick of it. He had hated it when he was younger and he hated it now. Why the hell couldn't they just leave him alone? He could take care of himself. He knew what was at stake if he didn't.

He managed to get up without waking his young charge. He got up, gently picked up Zack and went to tuck him in. Sam didn't miss the fact that when Dean left the room, he swayed slightly and put his hand to the wall for support. "Make sure to check your blood sugar," Sam reminded Dean. That was where Sam, Gray and Bobby seemed to be having the biggest battle lately. Dean was taking his meds, and eating, not enough for Gray's liking, but he rarely tested himself unless forced. With his new medication schedule, dosages were supposed to be adjusted based on his blood sugar level. With Dean not checking his levels as often as he should, it was making his disease harder to regulate.

"Yes mom," Dean sniped.

When his brother came out of the bathroom, Sam slipped in behind him. He found a used syringe in the container Gray had put there for him, but no lancets or test strips.

In the living room, Dean hid his own smile as he wrapped the used supplies for proper disposal back at camp. He knew what Sam was doing in the bathroom, and sometimes he felt the need to mess with his brother's head.

He knew he wasn't doing everything he was supposed to, and he hadn't been feeling the greatest lately, but there was a hunt and kids were getting hurt. Sometimes other things had to take priority.

It was just after midnight when Gray and Kim got home. The men retired to the back porch. They wanted beer, but were drinking diet soda. Alcohol played havoc with Dean's blood sugar and Gray wouldn't let him have any.

"I think I found the ghost," Sam informed the group. "There was a man named Alexander Cagney. He was a wealthy landowner."

"I've heard of him," Gray spoke up. "He wanted the land the camp was built on. He wanted to develop it into some resort."

"There was an environmental group that wanted to block his bid. They didn't want the area destroyed."

"We had problems with them too," Gray said. "They argued the kids would destroy the woods and the lake. I'm all for protecting the environment, but these guys were extreme. Is one of those guys sabotaging things?" Gray asked.

"I don't think so," Sam replied. "From what I gather, it's the ghost of Alexander. He had some city planner in his pocket and his bid was approved, far below market value."

"I knew we were competing with him," Gray replied. "But I never got notice that my bid was rejected."

"I'm guessing his bid never made it," Bobby guessed.

"He went missing the day the decision was made."

"Do I even want to know how you found this information?" Gray asked.

"No, you don't," Dean said. "Was he killed by this environmental group?"

"That seems to be the case. According to police reports, Mitchell Abraham, the leader of the eco group, was their prime suspect. They could never prove it. Cagney is buried at the cemetery just outside of town."

"So we go and burn the bones. Problem solved," Bobby said.

"I don't know," Dean added. "Something doesn't fit. I mean, the first few attacks were against counsellors. The last few were against kids. Why would this Cagney guy go after the kids?"

"He's a ghost that wants his land," Sam guessed.

"What happened to Abraham?"

Sam punched a few commands into the computer. "He's missing."

"I wonder if someone from Cagney's group offed Abraham as revenge, since the legal system failed. Gray, you said yourself that Abraham was worried about the kids wrecking the place."

"It makes sense," Bobby said. "The problem is we don't know where the body is. We need his remains."

"I think I know," Dean said. "One of the campers said he thought he saw a man approach the horse and Jill said she felt cold and heard scratches by the rock wall. I bet anything his body's out there. Jill said it was dangerous and almost nobody went in that area."

"So there's a good possibility we have two ghosts," Bobby replied in a worried tone. Normally, he would offer to take care of one, while Sam and Dean took care of the other, but neither was in top form. Sam only had one hand to work with, and Dean was usually one step away from keeling over. Neither was really in any shape to back the other up. They could go take care of one ghost one night and the other another night, but the longer they waited, the greater chance of another accident.

Gray came to the same conclusion as Bobby. There was one obvious solution. "I'm going with you," he announced.

This was one thing Bobby, Sam and Dean could all agree on. "Oh, hell no!" they all exclaimed at once.

* * *

Unknown Location

Thomas Gates sat at his desk, staring at his phone. It had been weeks since he had hired Dante to find the amulet. He had already given him a large sum of money and he was wondering if he had been scammed. He wanted to call, but Dante made it quite clear he didn't tolerate people wanting updates.

He was just getting ready to leave when his phone rang.

"Hello."

"We need to arrange the second part of the payment. I've found the amulet."

TBC

Please leave my muse a review. He's threatening to leave if he doesn't get attention.


End file.
